Bluebelles
by Neverendingimagination
Summary: It's 2010 and Jack is retiring, Sam is about to get a new position and SG1 are being transferred to Atlantis for its return to the Pegasus Galaxy. All hell breaks loose when an Alien entity demands something from one of the team and will stop at nothing to get it. All the usual pairings in some form or another SC/JO'N DJ/VMD RMK/JK (Moved from crossover to SG1 following advice)
1. Chapter 1 - The First Step

**LOCATIONS - Earth/Pegasus**

**DATE - July 2010 Onwards**

**LANGUAGE - UK English (Character dialogue will be written to reflect their individual dialects where appropriate and US English terms will be used as far as possible.)**

**Side note - SGU does not exist in this universe.**

**Changes in date/location are denoted by a heading in bold.**

_**Original Authors note:**_ This is my first attempt a Stargate fic so please be aware of that whilst reading and (hopefully) reviewing. I welcome constructive criticism and suggestions for improvements.

The title 'Bluebelles' is deliberately spelled that way and it will become clear why later on in the story. _  
_

**Additional Authors note: - **After a couple of recent reviews highlighting my incorrect and confusing manner of formatting dialogue I have decided to start reformatting the story from the beginning.

Guest - I was aware of the problems - I mentioned it in my A/N for Chapter 13 which you obviously didn't get far enough to read. I hope this version is easier to understand and read.

(For some reason I can't enter a line break so am using . to create them)

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**Chapter 1**

.

**Washington D.C - July 26 2010**

Sam looked at herself in the mirror, she took a few deep breaths to try to calm herself; it didn't work. She was terrified, give her a Goa'uld, a Jaffa army, or a Wraith hive and she wouldn't bat an eyelid, but today, she had never felt so nervous.

She studied her dress for the hundredth time allowing her thoughts to drift from her resolute stance to the undetermined realm of 'what if?' What if its too short, or too revealing, or perhaps it wasn't revealing enough, she debated yet again about taking it off and pulling out something else from her wardrobe. Then she stopped and looked at herself again, she had bought this dress for a reason.

Cassie had told her she looked beautiful and Vala had told her he wouldn't take his eyes off her, whoever he was, the mystery man she had bought the dress for. Granted she trusted Cassie's opinion more than Vala's - the older woman had been known to dress entirely inappropriately, the tiny skirt and shirt tied below the breasts combo that Cam had described to Daniel in loving detail came to mind - but it was Vala that knew she wanted to look fabulous for a man.

It was like Vala could read her mind at times and although on rare occasion it was helpful, most days it was infuriating and required the aid of a gag, usually Daniel's hand clamped over her mouth to shut her up before she verbalized something inappropriate for the situation.

Sam smoothed the skirt of her dress and checked the tape holding her dress in place had not come unstuck or moved, it would be unbecoming of a decorated Colonel to fall out of her dress in front of the top brass. Happy she was secure she twisted a free curl around her fingers and tidied her fringe.

"Samantha, are you ready to party?" came the over excited voice of Vala through the door, before Sam could reply the woman burst in and bounced over to her – a feat in itself in 6 inch heels. Sam couldn't help but feel inferior to the dark haired beauty beside her, tanned skin, flowing hair tamed into a sleek side ponytail and a strapless red dress and matching lipstick. "You look stunning, Sam," see, there it was again, the mind reading.

"Let's go," Sam replied, still trying to ignore the thousand butterflies dancing in her stomach.

Jack irritably tied his tie, his boots glistened and his trousers had never had creases so sharp. His blue jacket was hanging on the wardrobe door and looked brand new. He checked his tie and sniffed his shoulders, he grabbed his aftershave and used a little more before drying his hands and putting on his jacket. He smiled to himself, he still had it, a few more wrinkles, a few more scars, a few more, yes, he would admit it, grey hairs but he thought he still cut a dashing figure. He looked at the dress uniform hanging on the wardrobe and had never felt so relieved. Tonight he was no longer, General Jonathon O'Neill, he was Jack, plain Jack, well after midnight he would be and then, well there would be nothing stopping him then, would there?

Five years ago they had sat outside his cabin fishing, waiting for Daniel and Teal'c to join them, it was then that they had decided that when he retired they would take a chance and see what happened. He'd had it all planned out in his head, he'd get retired, he'd go to her home and he'd kiss her like he had done in the time loop. He lost himself for a moment remembering the taste of her soft lips and how she had kissed him back without hesitation. If only it could be that good again. She however, had got in first and suggested they meet after the party, just a drink but perhaps with the promise of something more.

He picked up his key card and left his hotel room. He looked up and down the corridors; this place was more confusing than a pyramid when he needed to find a bathroom. He took a chance and turned right, thankfully when he turned the corner a sign indicated the stairs and he continued down to the ground floor.

As predicted the foyer was milling with arriving guests, top brass and stuffed shirts galore and dotted between were some familiar faces. He turned and tried to escape in the opposite direction.

"General O'Neill," damn, he turned back to the well-wisher and greeted them politely.

"Senator," he allowed himself to be guided into the ballroom and desperately looked around for an escape route.

Daniel waved to him, flanked by the veracious Vala, Cam smiled and Teal'c gave his trademark nod. Hank Landry was close by talking to a blonde woman with a six to rival Carter's. She was wearing a royal blue number that fell to floor and showed off her toned back. Where was Carter?

A booming voice filled the room, "Let us welcome our guest of honour, General Jack O'Neill!" the room was filled with applause and a few wolf whistles from SG1. He nodded and smiled politely and walked over to the podium where he was expected to give a speech. He still hadn't planned what to say but he was glad that all the guests had full security clearance, he could ad lib without worry; he opened his mouth to speak when the blonde turned around.

She was holding a glass of champagne and positively beaming. He was speechless, he was sure his mouth had dropped and he had reverted to goldfish impressions but his brain wasn't working. The dress was a halter neck with a v dropping between the breasts revealing enough flesh to tease and look classy at the same time. Her hair was twisted into curls and pinned up loosely. She looked; there was no other word for it, stunning.

Sam turned around at the announcement and applauded with the others. He nodded and the room fell silent but he didn't speak, he was staring, at her. She felt her cheeks redden slightly and Daniel coughed loudly. Jack jumped and looked around the room.

"Well, I'm not one for speeches and," he looked around comically, "usually the Asgard feel this is a great time to spirit me away, and, well, I wouldn't put anything past them and their skinny grey butts. The Stargate Programme and Homeworld Security have been my life for the past 13 years and I've seen and done stuff many of you can only imagine. I'm proud of the accomplishments of everyone involved, there have been some great times and along the way some really tough ones, we lost some good people and formed new alliances. Personally I made some of the best friends I have ever known, and for that alone I thank General Hammond for dragging me away from my telescope and kicking my ass through the 'gate. I'd love to say I'm sad to go but I'm just looking forward to spending all day fishing, all day every day, just fishing. I'd like to raise a toast, to fishing."

Sam grinned, she, along with everyone else, raised her glass and chanted, 'to fishing,' she could see many were confused but General Landry and the rest of SG1 along with others who knew Jack well were smiling and shaking their heads. He hurried out from behind and podium and across the room to her.

"Congratulations Sir,' she said. He smiled and looked the group up and down. "Makes a change from BDUs Carter," he jested.

She couldn't help it, she blushed and was certain she had turned the colour of beetroot.

Jack was secretly pleased he had made her blush. He turned to Daniel, "Daniel.'

He responded in the time-honoured way, "Jack."

"Enjoying yourself?" Jack asked, bored to tears.

"Yeah, you?" his friend replied.

Jack glanced at his watch, 8pm, "not really,"

"Fancy venue, champagne on tap, everyone here to celebrate your retirement, what's not to like?" Cam piped up.

"I like the quiet." Jack shrugged.

Sam shook her head, smiling to herself.

"And I'm not that big on getting dressed up, can't move in these things," he tugged at his collar and pulled a face.

"Oh come on, you don't wear a dress like that and expect to be ignored," Jack looked past the group at the offending speaker. His eyes narrowed.

"Somehow I don't think making you hot was top of her agenda,' a familiar voice chastised.

Jack sighed waiting for the petulant reply.

"I just wanna say hi," the Canadian whined.

"We are not going over there so you can perv on the Colonel!" Sheppard retorted a little too loudly.

Cam looked around at the group. "Anyone got a lemon handy?"

"Sam, lovely to see you," McKay grinned as he joined the group.

"Rodney," she replied politely.

Sheppard nodded to Jack, "General," he turned to Landry, "General," and to Cam and Sam, "Colonels."

The four replied almost in unison, "Colonel."

McKay stared at them incredulously, "seriously? Every time, is it necessary?"

Sheppard glared at him, "to show some respect to your colleagues with the appropriate salutation, yeah, yeah, it is."

McKay glared at Sheppard before turning back to the group; he remained quiet whilst the others engaged in conversation.

Jack watched the little scrote as he openly ran his eyes up and down Sam's figure stopping on her chest. "McKay, I hear someone was stupid enough to date you," the man in question jumped.

"Yes, I am seeing someone," McKay told him proudly.

Jack raised his eyebrows in a 'tell more' expression.

"It's someone from the Atlantis expedition." McKay clarified.

"No, really?" Jack replied sarcastically.

Sheppard turned to the General, "Dr Jennifer Keller, don't know what she sees in him."

McKay puffed out his chest indignantly. "I'm a hero, I saved her life, I am the foremost expert on the Stargate and …"

"The most egotistical jack ass I've ever met," Cam finished for him.

"Didn't you nearly kill them several times in that mine? Surely saving their lives was redeeming your past actions and nothing to make a song and dance about," Daniel added.

McKay glowered at Sam, "You told them?"

Sam was the picture of innocence, "I didn't breathe a word."

Sheppard grinned, "Nope that was Keller, Ronan was impressed with your skills with a grappling hook Colonel, you showed McKay up royally."

Jack, Cam and Daniel sniggered, Teal'c's expression softened in amusement.

McKay was not impressed, "Did she mention anything else?"

Sheppard looked him directly in the eye, "Oh she did, but I'm sure it didn't get back to these guys."

McKay looked at him, "And what makes you sure?"

Sheppard blinked, "You're still breathing."

Jack raised his eyebrows wondering what on earth was so bad, "What did you do McKay?"

The younger man faltered, "Um, nothing in particular."

Jack knew it was bad for him to be trying to cover it up, "So why wouldn't you be breathing if we knew?"

McKay looked at Sheppard, "Just a little joke between colleagues."

Sheppard looked at him, "You want me to tell them what you said?"

Sam sipped her champagne, "Which time?" she asked.

"His suggestion for getting you out of the mine."

Sam nodded, "Right."

McKay looked horrified, his eyes falling on first Daniel, then Cam, then Hank, he gulped at Teal'c's expression and didn't dare look at Jack.

"What suggestion?" Jack asked furiously, he knew McKay had a thing for Sam and had made some low comments in the past, but he had thought that with her being his boss he'd stop or at least not say it to her face.

Sheppard turned to McKay, "Well?"

Jack felt a hand on his shoulder, an attractive woman in black he knew to be the wife of another general smiled at him, he sighed knowing he had to be sociable and was guided towards said general.

…

Sam looked at the clock, 11.50pm, it was nearly time. Their plan was carefully calculated, the party finished at 12pm and they both knew Jack couldn't get away before then. She could see Jack getting ready to leave and knew it wouldn't be long before she could follow. He nodded to other guests and then headed over to her and SG1. "I'm gonna hit the hay," he told them.

Daniel raised an eyebrow.

"What? It's been a long day," Jack continued, and its not over yet Sam thought to herself. Jack argued with Daniel for a few more minutes before saying goodnight and leaving. Sam looked at her watch, how long did she have to wait? She managed to give it nearly half an hour before following him up.

She hurried up the stairs to her room and grabbed the overnight bag she had packed earlier. She checked her appearance in the mirror and slipped from her room and up two floors. She walked along the corridor and turned a corner, the distance between her and her destination seemed to lengthen as she stood there. She stepped forward and followed the numbers on the doors until she reached room 426.

She knocked gently. She could hear footsteps crossing the room and her breath caught as he opened the door. He had taken his jacket of, loosened his tie, and undone his collar. She preferred him this way, relaxed and a little scruffy. He smiled and guided her in.

"Quick, before anyone sees you." He stuck his head out of the door and looked up and down the corridor before clicking the door shut.

Sam put her bag on a chair and looked around the room, no, suite, and what a suite it was. There were a table and chairs and sofa in the room complete with mini-bar. A bucket was sat on the table containing a bottle of champagne, with two glasses and a red rose beside it.

She raised an eyebrow, "I didn't have you down as sappy."

He shrugged his shoulders, "Wanted to do it right." She nodded and smiled at the sentiment. They stood in silence for a few moments before he felt the need to speak, "Well this is kinda awkward."

She laughed a little and nodded. "It's getting that way Sir."

He stepped towards her, and shook his head, "Its not Sir anymore Carter, its Jack."

She smiled. "Then its Sam, not Carter."

He grinned. "You'll always be Carter to me."

They stared at each other for a few moments; Jack turned to the champagne and lifted it from the ice. He opened it, poured two glasses and held one out to her,

"To retirement?" she asked.

He shook his head. "To us, and seeing what happens."

They sipped their champagne in silence, he caught her eyes and she found herself lost in the deep brown, he carefully placed his champagne flute down on the table and took her glass from her.

He stepped closer and reached out. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, the sudden contact made her gasp. He ran his finger down her jaw line and across her collarbone; he gulped and withdrew his hand quickly. He didn't need to say it, she knew what he was thinking; it still felt wrong, against the rules, forbidden. She closed the gap and found herself licking her bottom lip, she shifted her face closer to him. She could feel his warm breath against her skin. Her eyes traced the curves of his lips for a few moments before he finally closed the gap.

He pressed his lips against hers and ran his fingers through her hair; he deepened the kiss and savoured her taste. When they broke apart, their breathing quick and shallow, he quickly nipped her neck and collar gently.

"Mmm, you taste better than I remember," he whispered into her skin.

She stepped back, "Remember?' He met her eyes with his and grinned cheekily.

"That damn virus." He explained huskily. She smiled and hooked her fingers around his tie pulling him back to her.

He gladly obliged and began a sensual assault on the tender skin of her neck, the deep moan she tried to stifle brought a smile to his face. He allowed his hands to trace her curves for the first time, her hips, her bottom and then he lightly grazed his fingertips across her breast as he returned to her hair. His fingers found the clasp at the back of her neck and he played with it for a few moments. Willing to take the next step, he started to undo it but she grabbed his arm gently. Her face telling him what words never needed to, this time, meaning not yet, he nodded and kissed her deeply letting his hands drop back to her hips, not rushing things, just enjoying the moment.

They stayed like that for a while; he didn't care how long it was, just holding her in his arms was like a dream come true. He felt her hands around his tie and was aware of it being flung off him before she started unbuttoning his shirt, 'I thought we were taking it slow,' her eyes flashed and her lips crashed down onto his momentarily, 'that was too slow,' she opened his shirt and ran her fingers over his chest and stomach. He took a chance and unfastened the clasp on her dress and let the material fall down her front, or rather he thought it had.

She stopped caressing him realizing he was staring at her in confusion.

"How is it staying up like that?" he asked playing with one of the straps somehow stuck to her chest. She looked down and carefully peeled part of the dress off.

"Tape," she replied, she went to remove another piece but he gently pushed her hand away,

"That's my job. Sam."

…

Sam breathed deeply and sighed, she ran her fingers over his chest and snuggled her head beside his, their legs were still entwined and his arms wrapped around hers. She couldn't believe it had finally happened, after all this time and all the waiting, all those years longing and here he was, in her arms and even more than she had ever dared imagine. She laid her arm around him and closed her eyes; she thought she might just get the best nights sleep she had had in years.

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**A/N 2** - Any comments on the new formatting or any problems greatly appreciated. I am constantly looking to improve my writing and I can only do that from the feedback of those that read my work.


	2. Chapter 2 - Duty

**LOCATIONS - Earth/Pegasus**

**DATE - July 2010 Onwards**

**LANGUAGE - UK English (Character dialogue will be written to reflect their individual dialects where appropriate and US English terms will be used as far as possible.)**

**Side note - SGU does not exist in this universe.**

**Changes in date/location are denoted by a heading in bold.**

Thank you to everyone that has read/reviewed/followed.

**Additional A/N **- This is the reformatted version of chapter 2

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**Chapter 2 – Duty**

The next few months flew by in a complete whirlwind. By day Sam was working at Area 51, The General Hammond being on downtime for maintenance and repairs, spending her days tinkering with the systems and computer programs that ran her ship and putting together proposals for upgrades. By night she was embarking on the relationship she had only dreamed of. Instead of going back to Colorado or his cabin Jack had come with her to Nevada, he complained loudly there was nowhere to fish in a desert but was eventually content to sit on her balcony basking in the sun pretending there was a pond.

It was awkward at first, transitioning from colleagues to lovers, Sam calling him Sir a little too often and he calling her Carter. Now however, using their given names was second nature, as were the lazy mornings in bed on Sam's days off and the evenings together looking up at the stars and reminiscing about old times. They knew each other well enough to avoid painful memories and highlight the good times.

**Nevada - September 12th 2010**

This was one of those lazy mornings, having finally decided they should get up they had simply relocated to the sofa, made coffee and continued their lustful activities, each wanting to be as physically close to the other as possible.

Cassie was looking forward to seeing Sam for the first time in months, they'd spoken on the phone once The General Hammond had returned to earth but it just wasn't the same. This was her first opportunity to visit her godmother, it had been difficult to put a name on it, especially when she filled in her next of kin details for her air force application, 'relationship to applicant' had puzzled her for a while, in many ways Sam was like a mother to her, being there in all the ways that Janet had been but in another sense it was like having an older sister, advice on boyfriends and the girly chats, it was Jack that had suggested she wrote 'godmother' as that was what Janet had named Sam when she had adopted her.

She drove down the road towards Sam's rented house and spotted the truck parked next to Sam's car. She was doubly excited knowing Jack was here, he'd probably come down from this cabin when he heard she was making a visit, he wondered whether Daniel would be around, then hoped he wouldn't, that woman would be in tow. Her heart was in the right place but she could be so overbearing and the way she openly flirted with Daniel was enough to make you lock them in a room together just to get it over with.

She parked her car on the edge of the pavement and grabbed her bag from the seat beside her. She hurried up the path and pushed open the door, she hung up her coat and kicked off her boots and carried on into the main living space.

"Sam, I'm…" she stopped mid-sentence and stared at the scene before her. Once her brain had made sense of what her eyes had seen and what her ears had heard, she turned around horrified, "oh my god, jeez, I do not need to see that."

"Oh for crying out loud!" Jack cursed from his position on the couch, his compromising, half-naked position over Sam, and she equally naked underneath.

"God Cassie, you're not supposed to be here till 12."

Cassie glared at her watch listening to the frantic scrambling behind her.

"It's half past," she spied a blanket folded on a chair and tossed it behind her. "Ya decent yet?'"she called behind her.

"Er, yeah, sure," Sam replied.

Cassie turned back around and raised her eyebrows at the disheveled appearance of both the so-called adults before her, Sam in a t-shirt and shorts and Jack with the blanket wrapped around him.

"Good journey?" Jack asked her.

"Yeah, so, how long you two been…" she nodded to the couch.

"Couple of hours," Jack grinned. Cassie pulled a face as Sam nudged him warningly.

"Ewwww, TMI!" Cassie waved her arms across her face as if to swat back the information.

"Jack!" Sam glared at him. "We've been together nearly 2 months," Sam smiled nervously. Jack shrugged his shoulders.

Cassie grinned, "Didn't you retire nearly 2 months ago?"

"So I did." He feigned shock.

Cassie's grin widened, "You got any OJ?" she asked as she practically skipped over to the fridge.

Cassie curled up on the chair sipping her OJ whilst Sam and Jack showered and got properly dressed. She flicked on the TV and channel surfed for a few minutes before leaving the news on, she couldn't help but roll her eyes as giggling reached her ears. She could hear the whispered conversation over the newsreader.

"Jack, stop it, no, no stop it, Cassie's waiting," Sam giggled.

"Let her wait." Jack replied gruffly.

The phone started to ring, disturbing Cassie from her thoughts; she leapt on it and answered it in her most professional tone.

"Colonel Carter's phone."

"Is Colonel Carter available?" a male voice asked.

Cassie was intrigued, "Can I ask who's calling?"

There was a short pause.

"Marcus Walters, on behalf of the IOA," the man replied.

Cassie gulped, "Sure, just a minute, Sam, phone call!" she shouted, getting to her feet and walking towards the bedroom door.

Sam padded out bare foot and with wet hair; she took the phone.

"Carter," her smile disappeared and was replaced with a businesslike frown.

She walked away and shut herself in the den. Jack stuck his head out of the door after her.

"Who is it?" he growled quietly.

"Someone from the IOA," Cassie replied, itching to follow Sam and find out what was going on. She knew better though and returned to her place in front of the TV.

It only took the next ten minutes for everything to change.

Sam ended the phone call shocked, she didn't know what to say. She had never expected to be offered this position. She had already planned out the next 12 months in her head, in command of the General Hammond she would return to earth every three months for repairs and general maintenance, during her downtime she would be able to see Jack and continue their relationship; this position would mean 12 months straight without him. She flopped down onto her chair and stared out of the window. It had been hard enough the first time and they hadn't even been a couple, she was torn, her head screamed at her to take the job and her heart wanted her to say no and stay with Jack. Surely, they had spent long enough apart already, why did the universe seem to conspire to keep them that way.

Jack poured coffee into two mugs; he was getting impatient waiting for Sam to end the call and shifted his weight between his feet irritably. The door to the den clicked open and he looked up at the sound of her footsteps. Cassie looked up from the couch and joined him in watching her expectantly.

Sam looked upset, he could tell the phone call had bothered her but behind her eyes he could see that sparkle, the one she got when someone had challenged her. She took a deep breath and looked at them both.

"That was the IOA," she barely met his gaze.

Jack rolled his eyes, duh, "You don't say," he replied sarcastically; his retort covering the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

She swallowed nervously, that got his senses tingling, she was never nervous, not anymore.

"They want me to take command of Atlantis, she's going back to the Pegasus Galaxy." Sam watched them nervously.

Cassie responded first, "Really?" Her smile lit up her face, "I guess you'll be my commander if you say yes."

Jack didn't know what to say. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"But they fired you last time!" He was in a state of shock.

She nodded, "Apparently they've gone over the paperwork and taken into account the events of the last 12 months, it seems they were a little hasty in their decision to put a politician in charge. The new thinking is that as Atlantis is classed as a battle ship they need someone with experience in intergalactic warfare, and Lantean technologies, and the Replicators, and the Wraithe, and the Pegasus Galaxy."

He knew she more than fulfilled the criteria, a million times over in his opinion, but it didn't mean he wanted her to go. His heart sank to the pit of his stomach, she should go, it's what she does best right? The pesky voice of that petulant inferior race piped up once again, why was there no one else suitable?

"What about Sheppard?" he asked.

"Apparently he doesn't have the tactical experience required. Besides he has the most experience with the chair, he can't be in two places at once." She replied.

He couldn't argue with that logic could he? Didn't mean he was any less pissed, he had waited for so long to be with her and poof, she was being shipped away from his grasp once more. God he hated the universe sometimes, why couldn't they have left the Stargate well alone and stayed in blissful ignorance of all the alien races and technologies out there. He looked up into her blue eyes and was reminded exactly why; she would never have left it alone. She would have made it her life's mission to get the 'gate working.

He said the words he had to, the ones that would cause him the most pain but the same words that would let her follow her heart. More importantly, if he chose to believe the bizarre mail he had received, it would protect her.

"You should go." He didn't realise he had said it out loud.

She stared at him, "What?"

"They couldn't get anyone else because they're isn't anyone else, you're the best, take the job." He looked away from her; he didn't want her to see how much it was killing him to let her go after a few weeks,

He downed his coffee and ignored the burning in his throat, he knew she was shocked but he couldn't look at her, he didn't want to see the pain he was about to cause. He didn't want to let this carry on any longer than was necessary, they'd given it a go, it had been great but it was time to move on – yeah right, he couldn't even convince himself that was all it was. He grabbed his coat.

"Jack, what are you doing?" he could hear the crack in her voice, imperceptible to anyone else but he knew her too well.

He picked up his keys and shoved his feet into his trainers as quickly as he could.

"Jack where are you going?" he heard the younger voice ask him, the hurt evident in every word. Hurting Sam was bad enough but he didn't want to hurt Cassie too.

"Leaving her to follow her dreams, she doesn't need me holding her back."

It was a lie, he knew something because of that stupid letter that she didn't. He'd been keeping a secret from her since he'd retired, it would probably destroy their relationship in the end, this just saved him from taking that chance. It was cowardly and he knew it but this was Sam, he was kidding himself if he thought that getting in first and ending the relationship before she could would be any less painful.

Sam watched barely breathing as he turned his back and walked to her door. It took every ounce of self-control not to run after him and beg him to stay; she made herself stand still and held her head up high until the door closed. It only took a few moments for her resolve to crumble, she found herself shaking and it was all she could do to get back to her room before the tears started to fall. She curled up on her bed facing away from the door.

She wasn't going to do it, in those few seconds it took to tell him about the phone call she knew she couldn't take the job; she was going to stay with him. Now he had left her no choice, she would go to the Pegasus Galaxy with Cassie, with people that actually wanted her. She just wanted him to want her. She let go of all remaining control and sobbed into the pillow clutched to her chest.

She heard the door open, soft footsteps crossed towards her and the bed shifted as someone climbed on beside he. A familiar hand reached over her shoulder and stroked her arm gently; she reached up and took the hand in hers.

"Sam, its me," the voice spoke softly and with the same certainty it had all those years ago, "you're going to be okay."

She squeezed Cassie's hand tightly, hoping she was right.

…

**Altantis, San Francisco Bay - September 23 2010**

Cassie entered the control room for the first time; she was in awe at the technology. The lights in the walls, the doors that opened with the flick of a hand, it was like when she had stepped through the gate when she was 12 years old and entered a whole new world. This time however she was not alone.

She looked up to the control suit and saw the short dark hair and resolute expression of the head of the science team, she knew him to be Rodney McKay, he was obviously irritated by the tall and rather scary looking man with dreadlocks talking beside him and swatted him away. A rather attractive and petite woman approached them carrying a small boy on her hip. A man brushed past her with his head in his tablet muttering in another language under his breath.

A woman with long blonde hair and yellow stripes on her Atlantis Expedition uniform crossed the control station and placed a tender kiss on McKay's cheek. He smiled and turned his attention to her and showed her something on the screen.

"Faster muscles!" A woman ordered in a clipped English accent.

Cassie groaned at the familiar voice, she had only met her a few times but Vala was definitely an acquired taste. She turned around and saw the culprit wrapped around Teal'c's shoulders in a piggyback.

"Would it not be more appropriate for you to walk?" Teal'c asked in a tone that clearly stated it was a fact not a question. Vala shook her head.

"I should say not, this is the only way to travel, Cameron! Daniel! Where are my bags?" she shouted after her.

Daniel and Cam appeared around the corner each carrying several large bags, one on their backs and three each in their hands.

"Seriously? Vala, can you please, just for once, travel light?" Cam yelled across the room. "Daniel, sort your girlfriend out."

Daniel sighed, "As I keep telling you, she is not my girlfriend, she just won't leave me alone."

Cassie struggled to hold back the giggles threatening to explode. Daniel lost his balance and fell over in a heap of bags. Cassie couldn't hold back the laughter and howled at the disgruntled heap on the floor. In her state she didn't notice the military personnel around her standing to attention and saluting and the other staff following their gazes and waiting expectantly.

"Lieutenant Fraiser, as entertaining as Dr Jackson is I require your attention not him," A strong female voice chastised her from behind.

Cassie stood up tall and turned to salute her base commander. Obviously her smile was still spread across her face, a single raised eyebrow caused it to disappear.

As Colonel Samantha Carter addressed the men and women of the expedition Cassie couldn't help but swell with pride.

"This first priority of this expedition has always been and will continue to be the collection and understanding of alien technologies, cultures and biology. Our exploration and investigation will serve to further our understanding and provide Earth with the best defences possible. We have a responsibility to all human life both in this galaxy and the Pegasus Galaxy, the home of several of our number. We take the best minds from the Stargate Programme, Area 51, the military and the Atlantis expedition, we have those amongst us who have been here since the outset and for that I am grateful, it is testament to their abilities that they we are all here today. Others join us for the first time, talk, learn, get to know the people around you, you may not believe it now but these people will become your family, they will be there for you when you need it most. Today we stand together, men, women and children, Taur'i, Satedan, Jaffa, Athosian, remember…"

Someone cleared their throat loudly "Ahem."

The room turned to see a pale green 'man' with long white hair, looking rather bizarre in an airforce jumpsuit as he cocked his head and raised an eyebrow at Sam.

"And Wraith, my apologies Todd, as a united front we can accomplish great things." Sam finished and nodded to new expedition team.

Cassie felt her smile attempt a return, she forced it back and stood tall and resolute for the woman she was pleased to say was the closest thing she had to a mother. She showed Sam she was proud of her.

Sam relaxed and tapped her radio, "Colonel Sheppard, are you ready?"

"Ready and waiting, and might I say, great speech, inspirational, motivational," her 2IC pushed his luck.

She rolled her eyes, "Thank you John, on my mark." She crossed the polished floor and spoke directly to Cassie and the rest of the group of 2nd Lieutenants embarking on their first off world tour. "Deep breath and you'll all be fine," she caught Cassie's eye and allowed a small smile to play across her lips. She looked over at McKay and the science team questioningly, he nodded, "Okay, John, take her away."

I know, I know, its moved into angst territory but things always have to get worse before they get better right?

* * *

Again any comments on the new formatting or any problems greatly appreciated. I am constantly looking to improve my writing and I can only do that from the feedback of those that read my work.


	3. Chapter 3 - Return to Pegasus

**LOCATIONS - Earth/Pegasus**

**DATE - July 2010 Onwards**

**LANGUAGE - UK English (Character dialogue will be written to reflect their individual dialects where appropriate and US English terms will be used as far as possible.)**

**Side note - SGU does not exist in this universe.**

**Changes in date/location are denoted by a heading in bold.**

Thank you to everyone that has read/reviewed/followed.

**Additional A/N **- This is the reformatted/edited version of chapter 3

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Return to Pegasus**

**.**

**Atlantis, San Francisco Bay - September 23 2010**

Sam returned to the control console and looked over McKay's shoulder as John started the engines. Atlantis began its ascent, slowly but surely at first, a little too slowly apparently.

"Faster Sheppard," McKay ordered through his headpiece.

"This thing takes a while to heat up," came the relaxed reply.

McKay pointed at his screen, "If you don't speed up to a minimum of 70kmph for 20 seconds before we reach the mesosphere we won't break orbit."

Sam frowned at the back of his head and sighed. As usual, what he was saying was scientifically accurate but he was always so pessimistic to the point of predicting the next apocalypse.

"I'm going as fast as I can," John told him shortly.

She could see McKay was starting to get angry, the anger that usually preceded one of his spectacular 'end of Atlantis' scenarios.

"Well your best is not good enough Sheppard, if we don't break orbit we'll be stuck in a decaying orbit and combust in the heat!" McKay replied.

Sam looked up and saw the shocked expressions on the faces of the new recruits, she looked back down at the data screen showing, speed, angle of trajectory and saw exactly what she expected, 65kmph and rising, plenty of time to reach the required speed for breaking orbit.

"Keep going as you are Colonel, we'll be fine,"she told Sheppard firmly. She turned to McKay and spoke softly and firmly, "I'd appreciate it if you kept your apocalyptic paranoia to yourself until we land safely in Pegasus. My new Lieutenants already look like they desperately need to find the nearest rest room and you carrying on like that is not going to help them calm down and enjoy the ride. Thank you."

McKay, as predicted, began to protest, "I was merely stating a fact, I can't help it if that fact happens to encompass the potential for our imminent demise."

Sam stared at him, "Thank you," she repeated in a tone that told everyone else that the subject was closed.

"My apologies for not wanting to shake hands with my own mortality once again, have you seen the footage of the Challenger 73 seconds into its maiden voyage? The disintegration of the o-ring seal around …" He started again.

"McKay, I'm sure you would love to entertain us with a graphic description of that footage, but right now is far from appropriate." Sam had already had enough.

"I am merely informing you of…" he continued.

'The dangers I am already acutely aware of. Thank you.' Sam stared resolutely at McKay, in the brief silence that followed a voice from across the room piped up.

"You know, bearing in mind she's got 12 years of space travel under her belt, plus her experience piloting and travelling in the X 302, The Prometheus X-303 class, Goa'uld Cargo ships, mother ships, Asgard ships, Ori ships and Commanding the General Hammond X-304 Daedalus class battlecruiser," Cam finished a little breathless.'Wow that's a long list.'

Sam cocked her head thinking.

Teal'c turned to Cam, "I believe you forgot the Death Gliders."

Cam nodded enthusiastically, "oh yeah, the ones you flew out of the glider bay of the mother ship you sank in the Pacific, that must have been a hell of a ride."

Sam smiled at Teal'c, "it was."

Sheppard sighed down the radio, "Well done McKay, starting a pissing match with SG1 and its only been, hey ten minutes."

"Twenty two actually." McKay corrected him automatically.

"Know it all." Sheppard teased.

Todd grinned across the room. "I'll have to take you out on a Dart sometime, complete your set."

Sam was a little concerned by his expression but was sure he meant it in the spirit of friendship and cooperation.

McKay stared at the Wraith. "That sounded disturbingly like you asking her on a date."

Todd sneered, "What is a date?"

Sam rolled her eyes, here we go, this should be good.

"It's an earth mating ritual whereby a male and a female who are attracted to each other spend time together, getting to know one another, after an appropriate period activities progress to kissing and if all goes well, copulating." He stated.

She blinked at McKay running his statement through her head once more just to check she'd heard right.

"Earth mating ritual?" Cam asked appearing to be unsure if he'd heard McKay right.

"Copulating?" Jennifer repeated bemused.

Todd seemed genuinely interested, "what do you do to spend time together?"

McKay continued nonplussed, "Catch a movie, go out for a drink, take her out for dinner."

Sam shook her head trying not to smile.

Todd smirked, "Take her out for dinner, I like the sound of that."

McKay looked horrified, "oh, no, we don't… we eat together, in a restaurant, like Latino, Mexican, Indian, Pizza, Caribbean, Chinese, French, I know some great traditional French patisseries back home, um, Italian, though Garlic bread is a bad idea, and you don't do burger and fries after you're like 17 or you just look adolescent and cheap. Japanese, ooh, sushi, bad, bad experience with sea urchins when I was 19, I got it stuck…"

"Rodney! Stop digging!" Jennifer called from the top of the stairs.

Sam looked up at the younger woman, "Thank you Dr, I was beginning to think he wasn't ever going to stop," she turned back to McKay, an ingenious plan up her sleeve, 'Rodney, you've reminded me. I need you to do something for me, it's of vital importance to the expedition."

McKay perked up, "You need me?"

"I'm a big girl, I can admit that you have a more intimate knowledge of some aspects of the programme that me, this one included."

"I'm glad you see it that way." He puffed his chest out importantly.

Sam smiled, "I need you to go with Todd to your lab and decide what he's going to feed on and where."

McKay's face fell, the momentary shock was replaced with his usual arrogant incredulity, "You have got to be kidding, it's an ethical and moral minefield! Besides, who are you going to get to monitor the shield integrity and power consumption and the other 6 screens of highly delicate and temperamental systems running this city?" Sam stared at him, "Not Zelenka?"he scoffed. Sam shook her head, she would happily sit here and do it all by herself if it meant saving the team from McKay and his doomsday rants for a few hours. "You!"

Sam looked towards Todd meaningfully, McKay groaned and walked towards him as slowly as possible, "We can use my lab, come on." The Wraith didn't follow, "What? This is for your benefit not mine." Todd smiled. Sam had to admit it was still creepy.

"Dr McKay, I wonder if you'd allow me to take you out to dinner." He growled.

McKay gulped, "Excuse me?"

Sam bit her lip trying not to laugh, Cassie on the other hand, along with Daniel and Vala and half the expedition were already cracking up.

Todd looked at McKay innocently, or as innocently as it is possible for a Wraith to look.

"Every time I see you I get an almost irrepressible urge to show you how I feel about you." The cleverman droned sincerely.

Sam put her hand to her mouth, McKay looked physically sick, how cruel were they to take such pleasure in his torment? It's McKay she told herself, its warranted.

Their victim shuddered, "And er, exactly how do you feel?"

Todd grinned, "I've always thought you'd make a wonderful starter."

McKay glared at him and was suddenly aware of the laughter around him, "Its not funny, he wants to eat me and she's making me work with him."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow at the use of the term 'she' he spoke in his lowest, most deadly tone. "Colonel Carter has a name, you would be wise to use it."

McKay gulped once more and started walking up the stairs, he reached the top and turned around to Todd "A starter? Not even a main course?"

Sam sighed and took a seat in front of the screens; the man's ego knew no bounds.

**A few hours later … **

Sam watched the screens, her eyes darting from chart to graph to diagram in rapid sequence; amazingly the journey had gone without a hitch. They had entered hyperspace smoothly, exited hyperspace at exactly the right place above M35-117 and Sheppard was preparing for re-entry.

"Okay, everything's looking good, ready when you are, take it easy," she told her 21C. She was sure everything was functioning properly and nothing could possibly go wrong. Sheppard had done this before, everything would be just fine, but that nasty little voice in her head prodded and poked, and niggled away, until she was irrationally panicking inside about what might go wrong. The journey was too quiet, something always went wrong, it was as if the universe were luring them into a false sense of security.

Sheppard replied in a deadpan tone through the headset, "Like a leaf kissing the surface of a pond."

Sam smiled, "That would be nice."

As Sheppard was about to begin their descent, the reverse thrusters started to fire and failed abruptly, the screens before Sam flashed madly. "Sheppard hold it! The reverse thrusters just failed. McKay, I need you down here now," she spoke through her headpiece.

"I'm here,'"McKay called from the stairs as he hurried over to her. He checked the screens beside her, typing at a workstation furiously.

"Here," she showed him her screen.

"The modulation buffer has failed, the power is fluctuating so wildly the city has isolated the breakers and is preventing us from firing the thrusters. Why can't we ever cut a break?" the Canadian whined.

Sam knew they had to act fast, she tapped her headpiece, "This is Colonel Carter, I need a technical team to the engine room."

…

**Jack's Cabin, Northern Minnesota - September 23 2010**

Jack paced the short distance across his living room, his hand tightly clenched around the note that had arrived the day of his retirement. It might as well have been written in those zen colon things Daniel said the monk guy from Keb spoke to him in it was that cryptic. He'd managed to decipher the first part, he hated what it had said to do but the hand it was written in convinced him he had to do it. That however was the first of a list of instructions written in a language worthy of the Ancients themselves - he just hoped the next set of instructions wouldn't give him such a headache to decipher. He still didn't know what it meant. He read the first instruction again, well not so much instruction as statement.

_'Island brother of the creator transport the listener to the seat of the carrier of thunder, and the beholder of lightening, the faithful one given eternity by the father himself. '_

Yep just as confusing as when he first read it, he actually felt very proud of himself in cracking the code. He read the second instruction and sighed, god help him if he was going to make any sense of this one. The first had all been based around the same mythology – he blamed Daniel for his knowledge and was quietly grateful he had a key to his place. Those shelves of books had, for once, been invaluable to him; those big, boring, dusty volumes with no pictures and page upon page of teeny weeny writing now held a new meaning to him, he didn't just dislike them anymore, he loathed them.

_'When the mountain gods of fire awaken, Grace alone can ponder the ebbing of the tides in a five score seclusion. Once more to the place of shelter and 2 clicks to the triangle, the chariot of age awaits. From whence the agent of Hades army is completed, retrieve the stairway to the Lord.'_

He stared at the nonsense before him and snorted,_'2 clicks to the triangle' _What the hell was that supposed to mean? He returned to the beginning, '_mountain gods of fire'_ a volcano perhaps? _Grace can ponder the ebbing of the tides when a volcano erupts_, well that made no sense at all. He was beginning to think he would have to resort to contacting Daniel when he remembered the very first sentence – a warning.

_'The protector will be enthralled; the listener will be defiant, the head and heart shall try to help and the leaders will wish to follow. The defenders reflect in thoughtful silence and all is surely lost. The Grace of God alone will triumph and follow to the letter, the map of life so chary drawn, the one last hope of our Pentagonal line. His trust and faith may solely be placed in his tools so precisely gathered, his weapons against the lie.'_

He couldn't speak to anyone. Not a soul, he knew had written the letter and he knew it was to save someone or something from someone or something – entirely helpful not knowing what you're up against or what it is you're supposed to protect. He didn't know what either was but he knew he couldn't fail her. He didn't know when or where she had written it but it felt spookily like the letter he had apparently sent himself warning them of the Ashen. He had had a bad feeling in his gut back then and an even worse one now.

Okay, he though, lets start again, '_Grace of God'_ is you Jack so, you can ponder the '_ebbing of the tides in a five score seclusion_ …' maybe, no, or, hmm, … oh for crying out loud its worse than technobabble, its cryptobabble!

…

**Atlantis, somewhere over M35-117 - September 23 2010**

Sam waited patiently beside the control interface, she was itching to go down to the engine room herself and make the necessary repairs but she had learned long ago to let her team to their jobs. They knew the Atlantis systems better than she did and were more than capable. It felt like hours had passed when John's voice crackled down the radio.

"Zelenka, how long's this gonna take?" he asked, sounding as irritated as she was.

"I do not know," came the reply from the Czech.

She had peace for a few moments before McKay shifted in his seat, he tapped his radio, "Zelenka, are you done yet?" She rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the screens as Zelenka replied to his counterpart.

"No." His tone was short, he too was obviously bored with the constant questioning.

A few minutes later McKay tapped his radio again, "Are, you done, yet?" in a slightly more singsong manner; a bit more optimism.

"No,' Zelenka answered again, slightly more irritated.

"How long does it take?" McKay asked him; just the sound of his voice was starting to grate on her nerves.

"We are having trouble configuring the replacement buffer module, it should not be long now,' Zelenka told him.

McKay rolled his eyes and turned to the occupants of the control room, "I suggest you all get comfortable."

Sam had to agree, she sat down on one of the seats.

Her head was starting to throb, she rubbed her temples in small circular motions with the tips of her fingers.

"Headache?' an all too familiar voice whined.

"Yep,' she replied trying not to sound sarcastic.

"Have you been drinking enough water, cos I find if I don't drink at least 6 glasses a day I start to feel dehydrated. I feel frequent urination is a small price to pay to fend of fatigue, headaches, dry mouth and dizziness."

Sam fought to control herself, every part of her wanted to scream at him to be quiet. She tapped on her radio, 'Zelenka, are you done yet?' a short silence followed.

"Yes actually we are, Colonel Sheppard should be able to take us down with no problems." She had never been so relieved to hear the Czech's voice.

Sam stood up and stood over the control panel, "Ok John, set her down." She could almost see her 21C turning around in the chair, leaning back and moving his fingers on the gel like control pads.

"Let's go," he replied happily.

Atlantis began to move towards the planets surface, it sped up as it started to pass through the layers of atmosphere and the reverse thrusters fired in response. They passed through the thermosphere and entered the mesosphere, the external temperature of the shields started to rise.

"Ma'am?" one of the newer members of the expedition started in alarm pointing to the rapidly increasing values on the bar graph.

"It's fine, well within the safe parameters," she spoke as encouragingly as she could. Her eyes were drifting to their speed, they were starting to accelerate, "We're coming in a little fast John, 80km." The reverse thrusters increased their power but their speed barely slowed.

"70km, Zelenka, you said the thrusters were working," McKay almost yelled into his radio.

"I know, I know, they were, I cannot explain it," came the concerned reply.

Sam looked over at the shield temperatures, they were heading dangerously close to the maximum the city could withstand. "50km, okay everyone its going to get a little bumpy," she told everyone.

The various members of the expedition looked around them worriedly, they held on to things around them as Atlantis descended towards the ocean.

Sam and McKay's eyes were fixed on the control panel as Sheppard tried to slow the city. "20km we're coming in way too fast," McKay yelled. The Ocean was visible through the windows.

"Everyone brace yourselves!" Sam instructed.

Atlantis sped through the air and hit the ocean with a huge crack, the resulting surface wave resembled an earth tsunami, walls of water nearly 15ft high zoomed away in every direction. As the city began to settle it creaked and groaned, steam hissed up from the edges of every pier.

The groaning grew louder and the creaking grew higher pitched, a resounding crack broke the rhythmic noises. A panicked voice yelled in an English accent, "We're taking on water! Door C2-A's sealed itself, we're trapped!"

"Open it," Sam ordered, "On my command we're opening the door, get as close to it as possible." McKay typed in the command, "Ready?" he nodded. "Now!"

Sam held her breath for a few seconds; she knew all too well what it was like to be locked in a flooding room in a ship.

"Close it, close it!' the English man ordered.

McKay entered a second command code and the doors on the map flashed and sealed once more. "The city isn't build to withstand such extreme temperature differences, we'll be lucky if that's the only one!" Even as he spoke other areas of the city map started to flash and doors started to seal themselves, the shield barrier flashed wildly.

"Everyone to the control tower now!" Sam commanded, red life sign markers flew from every angle towards the tower as the shield started to collapse inwards.

* * *

Again, I am constantly looking to improve my writing and I can only do that from the feedback of those that read my work. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4 - Water, Water, Everywhere

**LOCATIONS - Earth/Pegasus**

**DATE - July 2010 Onwards**

**LANGUAGE - UK English (Character dialogue will be written to reflect their individual dialects where appropriate and US English terms will be used as far as possible.)**

**Side note - SGU does not exist in this universe.**

**Changes in date/location are denoted by a heading in bold.**

**_Original A/N_ - **Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing, it really is appreciated. I've pretty much completed my uni course now - just proof reading of a 2000 word assignment to go - so I'm hoping to update more frequently than I have been. This has been a mammoth chapter, it took on a life of its own and because I wanted to get to the main plot 'an alien entity demands something from one of the team and will stop at nothing to get it' I let it happen and just kept writing.

Specially dedicated to murrinholi, turning that frown upside down.

**Additional A/N **- This is the reformatted/edited version of chapter 4. Apologies for the mess of tenses in the original version, I was writing my final project script at the time and using present tense, it managed to find its way into this.

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Water, Water Everywhere…**

**Atlantis, M35-117 - September 23 2010**

Atlantis floated on the surface of the ocean, her carcass sitting deeper into the water than was normal. As each moment passed more water seeped through the micro fissures on the underside of the shell and in response, the city slowly dropped ever lower into the water.

As the dust settled Sam looked around taking in the scene before her, bags and cases lay discarded on the floor, having previously been piled up neatly to one side – she had planned to announce everyone's living quarters upon their arrival.

Civilians and soldiers alike were in various states of disarray, some still standing, others having fallen on the floor, a few had cuts on their arms and faces, one a deep gash on his leg. Cassie was in her element making a tourniquet top stop the bleeding and Jennifer was giving orders to the rest of her team.

Sam turned her attention from the panicked faces to McKay and looked at the screens, a plan formulated in her mind she picked up a tablet and wrote _'External pressure on the shield from sea water caused it to collapse to the control tower and set off a buoyancy fail safe right? DO NOT REACT OR SPEAK!'_ She passed the tablet to McKay, he read it and opened his mouth. Sam looked at him pointedly and he nodded slowly, his eyes widened as he realized what she was about to try.

He typed a message back, _'you really are a whack job Sam you know that?'_

She smiled and tapped out a reply, _'yup, play along.'_

"Can I have your attention please?" The city walls groaned in response, everyone looked up and around them, eyes wide and mouths open, some still shaking. "Okay, I won't lie to you, the monitors are showing flooding in most of the lower levels of the city and we can't be sure how long she will remain buoyant. I'm ordering a citywide evacuation to the mainland, after which teams will return to assess the damage." The personnel turned to each other in shock, "everyone grab what equipment and supplies you can and report to the jumper bay. Now."

The civilians started picking up bags and cases of equipment and supplies. "Cam, Lorne, you're in charge of the jumpers; I want a minimum of 2 ATA carriers, 2 military personnel and one medical officer per jumper, when you arrive on the mainland set up a temporary base camp. Lt Hailey, Radek, I'm putting you in charge of setting up defences and basic power units. We don't know how long the repairs are going to take so I want a medical treatment area set up, Dr, coordinate your team accordingly." The five nodded to their leader and set about their individual tasks, Cam and Lorne organized the soldiers and they in turn organized the civilians.

Within a few minutes half the room had been vacated, the remaining occupants included SG1 and SA1, Cassie and Todd. Sam turned to her friends, "I need you all to play to your strengths, we need to pull together and work as a team, there's no time for pissing contests. Ronan, Teal'c the planet is uninhabited but there is a giant snake like creature," Sam turned to McKay for conformation.

He nodded, "Up to 6 metres long and a girth of about 30 centimetres, hangs about in trees and hunts like a python. We believe the venom to be poisonous but luckily we've never got close enough to find out."

Sam turned to the two warriors, she didn't have to explain, both nodded in their own way.

Ronan placed his hand on his stunner, "Just point me in the right direction."

Sam smiled, "Teyla, the people are going to look to you for guidance, I want you to assist John in any way necessary, same goes for you too Daniel, Vala take care of Cassie, Todd, can I trust you not to feed on anyone?"

The Wraith nodded, "I will occupy myself assisting with the defences."

Sam nodded, "Thank you. John, I'm leaving you in charge."

He squinted at her, "Wouldn't I be more use here with you guys?"

Sam gave a non-committal nod of her head, "Well, it might be useful but you are the most experienced officer in the Pegasus galaxy, you're expertise will be better put to use leading the expedition."

John sighed, he turned to McKay, "What about you?"

Rodney tapped the screen, "I'm needed right here," Sam gave him a small smile; he smiled back and busied himself with a calculation.

The group headed off grabbing the remaining kit, Cassie however turned to Sam.

"What about you, you're talking like you're not gonna be around?"

Sam pursed her lips nervously, "I need to stay here, someone has to monitor the systems and try to make contact with the Apollo."

Cassie understood but she gestured all around them, "But why's it got to be you, why can't someone else do it?"

Sam had known this was coming, "Because I'm in charge, I can't order anyone to stay and put their life at risk. It's my responsibility and I'm staying."

The look on Cassie's face nearly broke her heart; she abandoned her military poisition and hugged her gently. "Cassie the best thing you can do right now, is your job. Right now I need Dr Fraiser, can you find her in there for me?"

Cassie sniffed and nodded; she stood up straight, a look of determination upon her face, "Yes ma'am." She hurried off to join the other medics, as she reached the entrance to the jumper bay she turned and looked back at Sam, her eyes saying what words could not. Cassie took a deep breath and joined the queue to a jumper, praying to whatever god was out there that that would not be the last time she saw her.

Sam sat down at the monitor and sighed, the sounds of the personnel milling around were fading. McKay remained beside her, she looked around at him, "You don't have to stay," she told him.

He nodded, "I know." He changed the screens and typed away on his tablet, he shifted his position to get comfortable. "Communications aren't affected so a transmission shouldn't be a problem. Water level is rising at about 11 metres an hour, control tower is 664 metres high, give or take. We can assume that rate will remain steady until the city is approximately half submerged, that gives us roughly 2 days to fix the holes before the city sinks and we become the first human colony on M35-117."

Sam turned to McKay, "Thank you for that comforting thought."

Their radio's crackled, "I've left you a jumper, just in case things get bad," John informed them.

"Thanks John, you've got three hours to start base camp and send the first team out. We'll have everything ready our end." Sam replied sounding as strong and commanding as she could.

"I'll check in at 16.15 Zulu. Out." John ended the transmission.

Sam looked around the silent and empty control room and wondered if she and Rodney were going to get out of this alive, her plan to save Atlantis could easily kill them both if they weren't careful.

…

Inside the jumper John, Ronan, Teal'c, Teyla, Cassie, several lieutenants and the last four scientists watched with heavy hearts, as the city seemed to shrink beneath them. They joined the fleet of waiting jumpers with John taking point, leading the convoy across the wide expanse of deep blue water to the mainland.

A grayish blue animal leaped out of the water and danced in the waves, it reminded those from Earth of dolphins. Suddenly another jumped up, another, and another until maybe twenty or thirty sprayed water into the air and jumped and splashed and twisted and turned. The occupants of the jumpers welcomed the spectacular distraction and oohed and ahhed in wonder.

As they passed the group of marine mammals a large shadow glided beneath the surface drawing ever nearer until it too broke the surface. It sprayed water from its blow hole and turned over to reveal its belly before diving beneath the waves.

John smiled, "McKay's buddy come to say hello."

Teyla nodded, "Perhaps he is telling us he will watch over them as he did before."

In a second jumper, Cam looked up to the horizon and saw the thin line of green. The line grew wider until he could make out beaches and a cliff, he boomed in a deep voice, "Land ho!" Daniel raised an eyebrow at him, "always wanted to say that."

Their pilot, Laura, a psychiatrist who was thoroughly impressed to find she possessed the ATA gene, shook her head and smiled.

Daniel rolled his eyes, he tapped the radio he had been given upon his arrival at Atlantis and spoke clearly, "John, we're approaching what appears to be the mainland, we should probably send a scout to check its not an island and then find a place to set down." He finished, "Oh, over." He added remembering his years being chastised by Jack for not ending his transmission properly.

"Jackson, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't all land technically an island?"

Daniel frowned at him, "Well yes technically, unless the percentage of land to water is the opposite of that of earth. Earth's 2/3rds water so the water surrounds the land, if the planet was 2/3rds land then the land would encircle the water. Although I'm sure Rodney said M35-117 was around 70% water so…"

"The point is mute." Cam interrupted.

Daniel cocked his head and got defensive, "What I actually meant was setting up camp on an island the size of Long Island probably isn't a good idea, its hard to escape something when you've got ocean within 30 miles on all sides."

Cam nodded, "Fair point."

The radio crackled, "Laura, you fancy taking a detour, let our geography experts cast their eye over the terrain?" John asked.

The physiciatrists' auburn hair bounced as she nodded, "Aye, sir, I'd love tae," she leaned back, took the jumper off to the left in a wide arc, and followed the coastline.

They passed great cliffs of a deep red stone and smooth pearly white beaches. "Lets have a look inland," Cam suggested. Laura took them to the right and they crossed lush green fields and reached a thick wood reminiscent of the deciduous temperate forests of Europe and North America, they carried on for twenty minutes but found nothing but land as far as the eye could see.

"It looks okay, there's a forest bordering a kind of moorland," Daniel stopped as the terrain below became smoother and suddenly dropped away into a lush valley, green pastures cut through with a shining blue river complete with waterfall, "I think we just found our base camp, erm, 6 klicks north west of you." The opposite side of the valley was bordered with great mountains, their snow capped peaks peeping out of a soft pink mist.

…

Two hours later and the peaceful pastures were swarming with expedition members, groups putting up tents and others handing out blankets and sleeping bags. John was overseeing all the operations, ensuring the medical tent was the first up was a priority; he had organized a team to help the medics and agreed with Cam on the necessity of exploring their immediate surroundings. He left Cam in charge of the soldiers and spent his time organizing the civilians. Now however he was assembling a team of engineers to send back to Atlantis to start the repairs.

Scientists were by the river, standing on various rocks and boulders making a natural crossing spanning a fair length of the cascades, taking samples and checking readings. "Its safe," one called back to Major Lorne.

The officer turned from his position on the east perimeter and nodded, he lifted his radio, "Colonel Sheppard, the water's safe to drink."

Cam stood before a group of soldiers; he had separated the men into different groups; one for securing the perimeter led by Major Lorne, one for construction and manual labour and a third for exploration. The first two teams were already at work leaving just those for exploration.

Daniel, Teyla, Ronan, Teal'c, and Vala stood to one side and sixteen others stood in two groups to in the middle and right, "Okay, team one, that's my team, head for the mountains, team two up river, team three, down stream, and team four the woods. I want everyone to check in with Lorne every thirty minutes, we're looking for anything that could pose a threat to the base, this place is supposedly uninhabited and this is supposedly a simple recon mission but I don't have to tell you guys how many times 'simple' turns majorly cock-eyed. Off you go."

The teams started off in their various directions, Ronan led the way towards the mountainous region with Cam and the others bringing up the rear, it took them less than twenty minutes to cross the pastures and various hills, they saw a few cattle type animals grazing on the foreign grasses and birds fluttering around but not much else.

Vala groaned, "My feet are killing me, muscles, I want a lift," Teal'c lifted an eyebrow and continued on his way, "Daniel?" she asked hopefully.

"No," he replied shortly.

Vala turned her attention to the newcomers to the group and eyed Ronan with delight, "You don't fancy helping a girl out, do you darling?" Ronan smiled back, eyeing up Vala just as eagerly, Teyla coughed loudly and Ronan snapped out of it,

"um, no, can't." he replied gruffly.

Vala sulked and dragged her feet as they continued their trek.

As they neared the foot of the mountains Teal'c looked up and studied the topography, he could see a dark shadow part of the way up the mountainside. "There," he pointed with his weapon, "it appears to be a cave of some kind, I believe we should investigate further Colonel Mitchell."

Cam squinted, "Are ya sure? Who knows what could be sleepin' in there, minding its own business, I wouldn't wanna wake anything nasty up."

Ronan grinned, "That's exactly why we should take a look, know your enemy," he walked towards the rocky slope and started his ascent.

Teal'c nodded to Cam, his hands behind his back, 'Indeed.'

…

Back in the control tower, Sam was sitting in the dark trying to make contact with the Apollo. They had shut down as many systems as possible in order to divert power to the shields, so far so good, the flooding had reduced to a rate of only 9 metres per hour. It wasn't much but it might give them as much as another 6 hours to make the necessary repairs and right now, every minute counted.

It was for the same reason that she had attempted to make contact with the Apollo rather than use the Stargate to dial earth but the Daedalus class ship was still in hyperspace and not due to arrive for over a week, having started its journey a fortnight before, the city itself requiring only hours to make the intergalactic journey.

It was looking more and more likely that she would have to dial earth and contact Stargate Command directly. She was not relishing informing her superiors that less than 12 hours into her command the city was facing imminent annihilation by human error.

She rested her head in her hands and sighed.

McKay tapped the dialing device rhythmically, "You know we have to do it Sam, think of it like a band aid, rip it off quick and it'll hurt a lot less."

Sam smiled knowing he was trying to cheer her up. "Okay, dial her up."

McKay entered the combination and the chevrons lit up a bright aqua blue, the familiar whoosh and click settling Sam's anxious mind. The gate whirred and clicked and kawoosh, the unstable vortex exploded into the room and collapsed back to form the rippling event horizon. For the first time the blue water-like surface gave Sam the creeps, it was like the sea was already in the control room.

She took a deep breath, "Stargate Command this is Atlantis, do you copy, over."

A few moments later a familiar voice replied, "It's good to hear from you Atlantis." Walter, she could picture the Chief Master Sergeants' wide grin even now.

"I need to speak to General Landry Walter, ASAP," she told him.

Within a few seconds, the General's voice came through the gate, "Colonel Carter, this doesn't sound like confirmation of your safe arrival, another SG1 special?"

She smiled in spite of herself, "Unfortunately sir."

…

Less than a half an hour later and the first team of engineers had arrived, McKay had given them their briefing and they had set off to start the repairs. Sam sighed as she checked the extent of the flooding, nearly 30 metres.

"So, Sam, how long have you calculated we've got until your master plan becomes untenable?" McKay asked her.

Sam looked round to her friend and shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I can't even begin to guess how long the city will stay afloat or how long the shield will hold."

McKay sat down beside her, "Let me just check I got this right. You want to make the repairs to get the outer hull watertight and then to remove all the water from the city, you plan to sink her and reduce power to the shield, in order to initialize the failsafe, which will bring the city to the surface and purge all the flooded zones?"

Sam nodded, "Something like that. Yeah."

McKay shook his head, "Whack job, complete and utter whack job, sexy, but a whack job."

Sam groaned, "McKay!"

…

Daniel stared at the mouth of the cave with a furrowed brow, the others were already inside but he was fascinated by the shape and size of the opening. Almost perfectly circular and roughly the same size as a Stargate. He decided it was highly unlikely to be mere coincidence and slowly followed the others examining the bare rock walls.

He ran his fingers along the multicoloured strata, following the folds in the rock. He was no geologist but from the zigzag pattern, he deduced that the planet had a similar tectonic structure as earth, and that this mountain range had likely been constructed from colliding plates pushing and bending the rock up over millions of years.

The walls of the passage were much smoother, and more uniform, than he expected from any natural water cut system, but there were no tool marks to suggest the cave had been made from anything other than natural means. He looked all around him as he stepped further inside, the light of his torch almost disappearing in the inky black of a large round cave.

The light from the 6 torches combined allowed them to see the rounded roof and smooth walls. Daniel reached the centre of the cave and looked up, a bright green beam of light erupted from the ceiling, travelled backwards and forwards over him, and disappeared. Daniel immediately looked upwards; there was no sign of the source of the strange light.

…

The repairs were slowly coming along. There were now three teams working in various locations and many of the smaller leaks were now fixed. However, the city was still flooding from a fairly large breach beneath the south tower. Unfortunately, this particular breach was entirely underwater, both within the city structure, and the shielded area outside. McKay had come up with a novel way of accessing the panels.

The engineering team had taken a fully charged jumper and turned the cloak into a shield, just as Zelenka had done in order to retrieve him from the sunken jumper – an experience he would be more than happy never to repeat. They had then taken their 'submarine' into the flooded area between the city and the shield. They then simply extended the shield between the jumper and breached areas, and walked across. Due to the relatively low pressure outside the shield (compared to that of over 2000ft of seawater that John had had to contend with) the walkway could be maintained for several hours before the jumper would need recharging.

McKay watched on his monitors as another section of the south tower was closed off and sucked air between his teeth.

Sam turned around, "What?"

"Just trying to think of a better way to purge the water without sinking the entire city and trying to drown ourselves in the process," he stared at the screen.

Sam nodded, "Got anything?"

He shook his head, "no."

"Crazy plan C it is." She smiled.

...

High above the planet a cloaked ship floated in orbit around the largest of the planets satellites. The ship was perfectly smooth and shaped a little like an hourglass with the top section almost circular and the bottom half stretched out almost to a point.

On the flight deck the ship's commander watched a data stream fill a holographic monitor, the data stream finished and was replaced with satellite images from the planet. A surface view of the coastline, the image zoomed in several times, until the Lantean base was visible. The creature swiped its arm to the left and the image was replaced with that of the sinking city of Atlantis. She smiled and hissed gleefully with a whistling intake of breath, she spoke in hisses and clicks of her tongue to her fellow crew. Although her words were undistinguishable to the human ear, her pleasure was evident in her shining eyes, and wide grin as she watched the footage.

…

Vala looked around the boring dusty cave for a matter of seconds before deciding she was bored. She sighed and bounced over to a rather confused looking Daniel, "Er darling, why are you looking at the ceiling?" He licked his lips and somehow managed to screw his face up even more, just how she liked him best, confused and vulnerable.

"Something just scanned me," he said in the tone that said he was thinking hard.

She was more than a little confused, "The rock just scanned you?"

He turned to her exasperated, "No not the rock, something in the rock, a beam of green light just…"

They both stopped still as the green light passed over Vala then disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared.

"Okay, that was creepy. Daniel how did scanning technology get on an uninhabited planet?" she asked, eyeing the walls nervously.

Daniel was still looking up at the ceiling, "I don't know."

Teyla hesitantly crossed the floor, the beam scanned her and turned red almost instantly, it flashed three times before disappearing. Ronan and Teal'c pointed their weapons at the ceiling and found themselves also being scanned, Ronan's scan turned red and Teal'c's remained green. Finally, the scanner turned to Cam, it moved backwards and forwards and remained green.

A voice filled the cave, "It is not yet time, it is not yet time, it is not yet time." It repeated over and over again. A blinding white light filled the cave before darkness fell again.

Daniel flashed his torch around the cave, the others followed suit.

"Nothing here." Ronan stated turning to the entrance.

"Nope, not a thing,' Daniel agreed.

'Right, back to base, no sign of big cats up the mountain side,' Cam led the way from the cave and Vala and the others followed and began to climb back down the rocky path.

Vala's feet ached from the walking, she was sure she would have blisters by the time they got back.

7 hours later

It was dark, much too dark to try to attempt repairs below the water level and Sam had sent the engineers back to the base on the mainland. Work had progressed far quicker than they had anticipated and it was safe to allow them to get some rest.

Rodney was cold, they had turned off all heat generators in the city, and in fact, the only systems they had left on were the shield and the communication array. They had powered down almost all the lights except the one above the control room and turned on appropriate lights for the repair work. He had moved from his position at the front terminal to one further back nearer to Sam, and eventually, they had moved to the floor for comfort. They were bored stiff and dog-tired but couldn't afford to sleep; if anything changed, they had to know about it straight away.

Sam had pulled her knee up to her chest and was resting her chin on it; she shivered and pulled her leg closer to her body. He hesitated before sliding closer to her. She eyed him suspiciously.

He held up his tablet, "What? Its -5 degrees Celsius in here, I'm trying to conserve body heat so we don't freeze to death."

Sam sighed and pushed her head into her shoulders.

Rodney decided enough was enough. He got up and crossed the control room, he headed down the stairs and into the gateroom where he picked up two packs and carried them back up to the control room. He put them on the floor and unzipped them; he pulled out the sleepingbag and roll mat from each. Sam raised an eyebrow. He ignored her and continued his work, rolling out the two mats and placing them side-by-side next to her. He tossed her a sleepingbag and pulled out one for himself.

She pulled her bag towards her and sighed, "We can't go to sleep."

'Do you think I'm stupid?' he thought. "I know that," he unzipped his bag and started to climb in.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, her lack of energy evident.

He wriggled into his sleepingbag and zipped it closed around him. He tried to get up and ended up wiggling like a worm to make any kind of headway. He eventually pulled himself up and bunny hopped over to the terminal and sat down.

He became aware of stifled giggling behind him; this was a new sound to his ears, Samantha Carter giggling! He'd never imagined her as a giggler, not in any of his wildest dreams or fantasies, and well, they were pretty wild. Until they get eaten by the whale, then they got plain freaky. Between Moby Dick and Disney's Pinocchio he was scarred for life, it was the only way he could explain them regularly getting eaten by a whale and then making out on a raft in its stomach. He felt bad about still having these kind of dreams, he was dating Jennifer and things were going really well, he just still couldn't get Sam out of his head.

He snapped out of his daydream and turned around, Sam was still giggling at him. That was a nice feeling, he made her giggle, hang on, what was so funny?

"What exactly is so amusing?" he waited for her to answer.

"Have you any idea what you look like?" she managed to get out between outbursts of the giggles.

"No, but this is a practical method of monitoring the shields and keeping warm," He turned back to the terminal and reached out to change the data feed, his hand was obstructed by his sleepingbag and no matter how he moved he could not get his finger close enough to the keyboard to press a button.

He gave up and sulked for a few seconds. He spied his pen on the workstation and tried to grab it with his teeth, he very nearly caught it before it fell onto the keyboard. He just about gripped it between his teeth and managed to type in the command code.

"Stop it McKay, you're killing me!" Sam giggled behind him.

He turned and saw her struggling to get into her own sleepingbag due to her laughing at him. At least she was warm and happy.

He used his pen to type in several lines of code transferring the data screens to his tablet. He climbed off the chair and propped his tablet up in front of the mats before zipping up his bag again and getting comfortable. Sam zipped up her own sleepingbag and drew her knees to her chest as she watched the small screen.

After another three hours they were both bored senseless, McKay squinted at the tablet and read the time. "04.30 Zulu. I've been awake nearly 24 hours, nearly as bad as when that crystal energy being took Sheppard's form and tried to kill us off one by one in our dreams."

Sam sighed, "I was awake over 48 hours with a serotonin dependent parasite in my brain stem, not pleasant, but at least I had something to do."

McKay rolled his eyes, "You've always got to do one better don't you? Whatever we get out here, you've already had it worse with SG1."

Sam turned to him and smiled, she nudged his shoulder with her own, "Everything's a contest right?"

McKay grinned and nodded, "Yeah, so now what do we do now? I think we've exhausted predict-the-total-depth-of-flooding-to-the-nearest -milimetre-every-twenty-minutes, don't you?"

Sam raised an eyebrow "You're only saying that cos you're losing."

"Ha ha," McKay grinned. "Okay, Twenty Questions, you go first, animal, vegetable or mineral."

Sam thought for a few moments, McKay missed her eyes lighting up and the suppressed grin, "Animal."

McKay decided to start with the obvious, classifications, "Amphibian?"

Sam shook her head.

"Reptile?"

"No."

"Fish."

"No."

"Right, okay, mammal then, no that's not my question, so question number 5, does this mammal have fur?"

"No."

"Does it have hair of any description?"

"Yes."

"Do they live in social groups?"

Sam thought for a second, "no,"

"Are they carnivorous?"

"Yes."

"Do they eat other mammals?"

"Rarely."

"Do they eat fish?"

'"Yes."

"What was that 10?"

"11."

"Do they have a tail?"

"Yes."

"Are they marine based?"

"Yes."

"Do they attack people?"

Sam grinned trying not to laugh, "Its been known."

McKay frowned, 'Are they 12 to 16 meters long?"

Sam was positively beaming, "Oh yeah."

"Are they white?'

Sam nodded gleefully.

McKay was not amused. "I'm not playing anymore."

Sam was barely containing herself, he sounded like a four year old. "You haven't guessed what it is yet."

McKay turned to her, "A white whale, specifically of the megaptera genus."

"Correct," she snuggled into her sleepingbag.

"This is psychological bullying from my commander.' He sulked, turning away from her.

Sam raised an eyebrow, "You're not going to sulk on me are you?"

He folded his arms inside his sleepingbag, "No, I've thought of something. Ask away."

Her suspicions piqued, she thought for a moment before asking, "Are you something that only a earthling with intimate knowledge of the Stargate programme, Stargate command, our various space ships and the Atlantis expedition would know about?"

McKay sat up straight maintaining a dignified pose, "Yes."

"Animal, vegetable or mineral?" she asked closing her eyes briefly.

"Other." He stated.

Sam's eyes snapped open and she turned to him indignantly. "What do you mean other, you can't be other, the rules state, animal, vegetable, or mineral."

"I find the traditional rules to the game to be too restrictive, therefore I added in a fourth category, other." He replied matter-of-factly.

Sam looked at him incredulously, "You can't change the rules of the game just to suit you!"

McKay turned back to her, "The use of three arbitrary classifications rules out a whole plethora of possible subject material."

"Such as?"

"Physics, astrophysics, math, geological phenomena and concepts, hydrology, the arts, literature, visual media." He listed.

"You wanna play twenty questions with hyperspace windows, Jackson Pollock and Little House on the Prairie?" She shook her head in disbelief.

McKay nodded, "Mmm, when faced with a worthy opponent."

Sam raised her hands in amazement taking them out of the warm confines of her sleepingbag, "But that's not how it works."

McKay shrugged his shoulders and leaned back closing his eyes, "The mental input required for a game of traditional twenty questions for someone with my intellectual abilities is far too low to sustain cognitive interest, and therefore, the difficulty level must be raised wherever possible by whatever means necessary."

"Twenty Questions isn't designed to be intellectually taxing, its designed to be mind numbing, to make you forget how bored you are."

"Exactly my point, my version of Twenty Questions is a cross between the traditional game, Who Am I, Trivial Pursuit and Charades."

Sam shook her head, "Oh, boy."

McKay settled himself comfortably in his sleeping bag once more, "So, other, next question."

…

At 08.00 Zulu, John flew his jumper into the darkened control tower bay, his passengers were Cam, Vala, Daniel and Ronon, he had left Lorne and Teyla in charge when his desire to inspect his city himself became overpowering. He flew the jumper into the dock and the group climbed out fairly quietly.

They walked down the levels to the gate room and found it too quiet, neither McKay or Sam were at any of the terminals. Cam wandered off to one side, Vala looked around her, "Where are they?"

Cam pushed his finger to his lips and waved them to the stairs, "Anyone got a camera?"

They crept up to the control room and Ronan had to stifle a laugh. Daniel pulled out a camera and took a photograph of the scene before them.

John shook his head and grinned, "All his Christmases have come at once."

Cam grinned widely, "She's never gonna live this one down." He grabbed the camera from Daniel and started capturing the moment from as many angles as possible.

Vala smiled at the cute scene, McKay tucked up in his sleeping bag leaning against the wall and Sam beside him, her sleeping bag pulled tightly up to her chin. She had her head resting on his left shoulder and he had head resting on her hair.

Vala grinned and crept up to the sleeping friend, she placed her head near to Sam's. "Sam," she called quietly, no response, "Sammie," she tried, struggling not to laugh. Sam twitched, "Samantha," she called.

"Huh," Sam replied half asleep.

"Wakey wakey," Vala called.

Sam snuggled down further into McKay's shoulder "Just a few more minutes."

Ronan was struggling to contain himself.

John shook his head, "This is cruel," he told Cam as he took yet another picture, "Entertainment's over."

He stepped closer to McKay and poked his shoulder. McKay grunted, John poked again, McKay tried to lift his arm to swat him away but being stuck inside his sleepingbag, he couldn't. John poked him again.

"Hey," he groaned sleepily, his eyes still closed.

"Rodney, wake up," John poked him hard again.

McKay jerked away and looked up at the faces peering down at him, he was aware of something warm against his left side and turned his eyes in its direction. He was pleasantly surprised by the blond head by his chin and made no move to wake her, his grin lighting up his face.

Daniel bent down, "Sam, wake up," he told her loudly.

She opened her eyes and seemed confused by his presence. She swallowed nervously, seeing his gaze to her right, realizing who it was she lifted her hair up quickly and jerked away from him.

"Oh my god," she exclaimed "I did not fall asleep on McKay," she closed her eyes and hung her head in shame. Daniel rolled his tongue into his cheek to stop himself laughing and Cam snapped another picture for his collection.

* * *

Again, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5 - Floodwaters

**LOCATIONS - Earth/Pegasus**

**DATE - July 2010 Onwards**

**LANGUAGE - UK English (Character dialogue will be written to reflect their individual dialects where appropriate and US English terms will be used as far as possible.)**

**Side note - SGU does not exist in this universe.**

**Changes in date/location are denoted by a heading in bold.**

**Original A/N - **The usual, characters aren't mine - except Laura - etc etc.

Thanks so much to everyone who is reading, I hope you're enjoying reading it as much I'm enjoying writing it. Thanks to Syfy-girl97 for your thoughts on Sam's emotional state and to my beta murrinholi for your continued help and motivational poking. Apologies that it took longer than planned to update, parts of this chapter took a few attempts to get right.

Also I'm English and trying to write characters speaking in American/Canadian/broken English dialects is trickier than it looks when using expletives, if anyone notices any howlers please shout.

**Additional A/N **- This is the reformatted/edited version of chapter 5.

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Floodwaters**

**Atlantis, M35-117 - September 23 2010**

McKay snapped his attention from one screen to another, the walls on the map previously flashing red, indicating increasing pressure and imminent flooding, were now static blue and the power usage had stabilized. He typed in a few commands and the lights came back on.

"Looks like we're good to go," he told Sam.

She nodded and tapped her radio. "Jumpers, we're going to try something to purge the city, keep your distance and wait for us to make contact. Over."

"Understood," came the reply from Teal'c.

"Colonel, how exactly do you plan to do that?" Sheppard asked.

Sam licked her bottom lip nervously and looked over at McKay, "we're going to sink the city."

"You're what? Sam are you crazy?" Cam practically yelled through the radio.

Sam smiled, "It's always served us well in the past."

"Yah, I hope you know what you're doin," he retorted.

She swallowed nervously, glad he couldn't see her, "I do."

McKay stared at the computer screen.

"Okay then, good luck." Cam ended the conversation.

Sam picked up her tablet and took a deep breath, this was usually when General Hammond would look at them through the glass and say those two words in his southern drawl, _'god speed'._

Sam took her place beside McKay and brought up the power relay controls and McKay took over with the shield controls.

"Ready?" she asked him, he expanded typed in a series of commands and nodded, she typed in a command and the city began to rumble slightly. "Here we go." Their faces contorted with concentration as they watched their monitors.

…

John, Ronan, Teal'c, Teyla and Cassie watched from one of the two jumpers circling the city as the shield suddenly expanded to form the full dome as was normal. Laura, Cam, Daniel, Vala and Zelenka watched in a second jumper, everyone holding their breath, their eyes darting around trying not to miss anything. The city shuddered and the water around it rippled in large circles flowing outwards over the vast ocean. The city slowly began to sink, lower and lower until it disappeared beneath the surface.

…

Sam looked up at the large glass windows briefly, the immense blue surrounding them reminding her of a previous bad experience with a sinking spaceship – at least this one was designed to remain underwater for thousands of years.

"Shield holding at 90%," McKay told her, "Power consumption steady, preparing to override safety protocols and drop the shield to minimum power."

Sam typed furiously at her own keyboard, "Reverting to naquadah generators. Be ready to revert back to ZPM, on my mark, mark."

Both pushed the last buttons for the commands and the lights all turned out, the screens started flashing wildly as areas of the city flooded and turned blue on the map behind them. McKay watched the shield monitor and bit his lip as it dropped from green to orange and headed down to red, Sam typed furiously waiting for the fail safe to kick in, between them they would have to raise the city manually if the naquadah generator failed.

The power supply dropped down into the red and the screens started to display the message they were hoping for, 'shield failure imminent.' They waited with baited breath for the fail safe, it seemed like forever, the map was flashing again, the shield was now only around the control tower.

"It's taking too long," McKay stated, his tone panicked.

...

Vala's knuckles were white from gripping the back of the chair so tightly, Zelenka was muttering under his breath in his mother tongue and shaking his head.

Cam stared at the perfectly still ocean, "What's taking so long?"

Zelenka looked up, "The power could have failed or the fail safe failed to activate or the shield could have collapsed or…"

Cam glared at him, "I think we get the picture."

Teyla whispered a prayer under her breath, her eyes fixed on the smooth glassy surface of the water, wait, it was rippling, faster and faster until a spike erupted from the depths spraying water in all directions, the spike grew wider and taller and was followed by several other spikes. The control tower and central city thundered into view followed on all sides by the tallest buildings on the piers. Within a few seconds the whole city burst up and bobbed gently on the surface, water cascading from every surface.

…

Sam leaned past Rodney to change the data on his screen, she smiled when she saw that the water had been purged and the city was floating normally.

The radio crackled, "Everything okay down there Colonel?" Sheppard asked.

Sam tapped her radio, "Everything's fine, head back to the mainland and get everyone organized, I want everyone back on the city by 17.00 Zulu, that's 8 hours."

Sheppard replied quickly, "Sure thing, we'll get started, Laura take point."

The Scot sounded positively gleeful, "Does that make you ma wingman Sir?"

"I guess it does," Sheppard grinned in spite of himself, "Lets go, we don't wanna miss our curfew now do we."

_Rodney rolled his eyes. "Are you going to leave some time today or do we have to endure your flirting for the next 8 hours?" _

_"Laura, after you," Sheppard's voice came through the radios._

_"I hope you can keep up," she replied._

_"Its not a race," Sheppard warned her. _

_"Ah, but it is." Came the gleeful reply. _

_The unmistakable sound of a jumper starting up travelled over the radio followed by the shot of it zooming off, another followed seconds later._

_Sam was still smiling as she turned back towards the screens, "I think we make a good team," she told him placing her hand on his shoulder and turning her face slightly towards him. _

_He nodded, acutely aware of the warmth of her hand and body beside him, he folded his arms across his chest. _

_"Indeed we do, two geniuses at their best," he smiled and turned towards her._

_His eyes met hers and he saw the light shining in their blue depths, eyes he had found fascinating since the first time he saw them. In a few seconds, his eyes had traced the shape of her face and the way her fringe framed her eyes, he allowed his eyes to drop to her lips before he did something he had only ever dreamed of doing. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers gently._

Sam froze and panicked, and for a moment, she hadn't got a clue what to do. A massive part of her wanted to leap back in horror but there was a tiny part of her that actually wanted to let him kiss her, to feel wanted and cared for and he obviously did care. The way he kissed her told her that, he was so gentle and timid. She found herself giving in to the human desire to be loved and started to move her lips against his. It was Jack kissing her again, like he had done in the hotel room, soft, gentle, and tender and loving. He tried to deepen the kiss, hesitantly at first and she realized with a start how wrong he tasted, the way his tongue moved to hers and the feel of his hands around her waist.

Her brain ticked over at lightspeed processing everything, her mind fell on Jennifer, the innocent doctor that had become her friend.

She leapt back, "What the hell do you think you were doing?" she was as disgusted with herself as she was shocked by him. She had used him, just for those few moments but that was what it was. He had opened himself up to her and she let him think she wanted him when it was just the comfort she craved, the closeness and in doing so she had betrayed another friend, how would she ever face her again.

She turned away from him and put several feet between them.

"Sam I'm sorry I thought…" he stammered.

She struggled to fight the tears. That brief moment of intimacy reminded her with a heartbreaking jolt that she was alone, she hadn't felt so alone in so long, not since she had found Jonas playing the part of a god. That was the first time Jack had cheered her up, just as a friend, but it was the start of something special. Since then she had known that he would be there waiting for her, wherever she went and whatever she did, but not any more.

All the pent up fear and pain threatened to boil over and explode. She'd allowed herself to plan a future with him, she had decided that in 12 months she would request an position on earth, she would stay at home and in the back of her mind she pictured a child. She knew how unlikely it was, no one being quite sure what effect naquadah could have on fertility, the various entities and punishments her body had endured and then the proverbial straw that broke the camels back, the Ori staff weapon to her abdomen and the damage that had caused.

It had been another kick in the stomach when Dr Lam had told her that the blast had damaged her kidney, part of her intestines and worst of all, her left ovary, making her chances of natural conception slim at best. She had consoled herself with the knowledge that she'd still have him; she would still have Jack even if she couldn't have a child. Now she found herself the wrong side of 40, single and suddenly desperate for a family she couldn't have.

_Rodney didn't know what he'd done, she had her back to him and he could see she was holding herself tightly. Her back started to shake, just a tiny bit, he'd never seen her like this before, she was always so strong and determined. Even when it looked like Jack O'Neill was lost for good in the x-303 she hadn't broken down and he knew how close they were, not just SG1 as a whole but the two of them. It was obvious to any outsider they had a close bond, much more than CO and 21C._

_"Sam?" he called quietly knowing she wouldn't respond. She was visibly shaking now and he could hear her breathing becoming shallower. He approached her slowly and placed his hand on her shoulder, "Sam, was it that bad? Kissing me doesn't usually reduce a woman to tears." _

_She lifted her head up and managed a small smile, "It isn't that."_

_He perched against a console and waited patiently._

_She wiped away her tears and swallowed hard, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that and I'm sorry if I led you on. I respect you as a person, as a scientist and I wasn't being fair to you. It's no excuse but I'm going through a rough time right now, I just broke up with someone I," she faltered and he could see she was trying not to cry, "Someone I cared for a lot and for a minute it was nice to be wanted again but it was wrong and I'm sorry. You're my friend and, friends don't lead each other on like that, its not fair." _

_He let her cry a little again, "I think if he was stupid enough to let someone as amazing as you go, then he's not worth your tears."_

_He had tried to be nice but she just cried again, he found himself standing up and wrapping his arms around her gently. _

_"Friendly hug," he told her, "Right now you just need a friend and you know, I can be that friend." _

_She wrapped her arms around him and he felt her breathing steady. _

_"Thank you,' she said quietly. She pulled back, "You're a good man Rodney, and a good friend." She squeezed his arm gently and walked back to the main monitor._

_She sniffed and pulled herself together, not quite the steely Colonel but he still had to give her credit. She stood straight and tall, no trace of her tears remaining on her pale skin. _

_McKay sauntered back over to her, "So as such a good friend, does that mean I get a penthouse suite?" _

_She cocked her head to one side and frowned, "Rodney!" _

_"What? I was only asking." He smiled._

_Sam rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't want to get accused of favouritism now would I?"_

_McKay scoffed, "You're still gonna give SG1 all the good rooms though aren't you?"_

…

Sam stood before the tired, miserable, hungry people making up her expedition staff, they were slouched over various tables and were flaking before her eyes. They all needed a good night's sleep but first she was going to have to give out the accommodation details and endure the inevitable complaints.

She held up her tablet and prepared to read out the first room allocations, "Quite everyone. Look, I know you're all tired, but the sooner I get through this, the sooner you can all get some sleep. Okay, first, I'm going to explain the reasoning behind my allocation process. Number 1, as you're all aware we are a fraction on the full expedition staff, the others will join us through the Stargate in a few weeks. Number 2, everyone has different personal circumstances and needs and I have endeavoured to take all those into account, and number 3, those with a requirement for more than one bedroom have been allocated accordingly and should others circumstances change they will be put on a waiting list, is everyone clear?"

A mummer of assent crossed the room, "Okay, lets start with the east tower…"

Ten minutes later…

"… and finally Lieutenant Colonel Hope, 6014. That just leaves the central tower." Sam finished.

The room was much clearer than it had been, with only the new lieutenants and young scientists fresh from university, the most senior personnel and the flagship teams left.

Sam looked down at them and smiled at the lieutenants and scientists, "Now I'm sure its common knowledge that the newest officers get the worst accommodation and usually have to share. Here, its not just the officers, but the new scientists too." They all groaned but Sam ignored them. "But, I'm feeling nice. For now, you've all got your own single rooms but unfortunately you do have to share bathroom facilities, men are on floors 21, 22 and 23 and women on 24, 25 and 26. Let Dr Zelenka know which rooms you choose so he can set the locks to your palm prints. Dismissed."

The young men and women grabbed their bags and hurried off, Cassie and Laura bringing up the rear.

Finally Sam turned to her flagship teams, Dr Zelenka, the head of botany, two lead chemists, the three most senior combat engineers, three marines and Jennifer Keller. "I've put you all in the control tower so you are close at hand, should we have an emergency. Drs Miles, Charles and Brown, floor 28, rooms 2801, 02 and 03 respectively, Drs Thompson, Walker and Young floor 29, rooms 2901, 02 and 03. Drs Walker and Simmons, floor 30, rooms 3001 and 02, Drs Benson and Andrews floor 31, rooms 3101 and 02. Daniel, floor 32, room 3201, single, separate study, shared bathroom with 3202, Teal'c."

Vala opened her mouth to complain, "Why doesn't Daniel get a double?"

Sam raised an eyebrow, "He didn't request one."

Vala's eyes widened, "Why ever not?"

Daniel folded his arms, "So I can get some peace from you.'"Daniel answered her.

Vala's jaw dropped and she crossed her arms pretending to be extremely hurt.

Sam continued to work her way down her list. "Vala, floor 33, room 3303, double, den, own bathroom, Jennifer, floor 34, room 3401, double, own bathroom, separate dining area. Ronan I've given you a bit more room, double with a den and own bathroom, 3501, Raddick, 3502, double, den, own bathroom.

Teyla and K'naan, floor 36, room 3601, a single, a double, separate den and own bathroom facilities, there's a penthouse if you want it but I guessed you might want to stay close."

Teyla smiled, "Thank you Colonel Carter, the central tower is perfectly fine."

McKay stared at her, "Why do they get offered a penthouse?"

Sam frowned, "Atlantis is their only home and they have a child to raise, John you're in 3801, double, separate dining slash entertaining area and own bathroom, Cam 3802, same, I think that's everyone."

McKay frowned, "What about me?"

Sam stared at her tablet and feigned surprise, "I am sorry it looks like I forgot you, but there is a one-bedroom double with a den, and a balcony, free on the 34th floor."

His frown softened into a smile, "Thank you."

"Okay, everyone get settled in." Sam turned to head up to her own quarters.

Vala charged into her friend, "You didn't tell us where you are?"

Sam shook her head, "No I didn't."

She picked up her bag and headed towards the doors.

"I won't be able to find you if I don't know what room you're in!"

Sam grinned.

Daniel smiled back, "I think that's the point."

…

Sam had changed into fresh pants and tee and had just finished unpacking when she heard her door open suddenly, she poked her head out from her bedroom and rolled her eyes at her friend. So much for that plan, she thought.

"Sammie!" Vala cried bouncing into the room carrying something behind her back.

"How many times Vala, don't call me Sammie, especially here, I'd like to retain some modicum of respect," Sam scolded.

A familiar laugh wafted in through the door accompanied by the smell of chocolate.

"What's going on?" Sam asked folding her arms.

Vala grinned widely, "I decided, that as we haven't had a girlie night, for absolutely ages, we should have one tonight, a little welcome to Pegasus party."

"Uh huh," Sam wasn't convinced.

"I brought this," Vala produced two bottles of wine from behind her back. "And friends, and goodies." She placed her fingers inside her cheeks and whistled, Teyla entered the doorway carrying a tray of cake, chocolate bars and Jell-O, Jennifer carried several wine glasses.

"We don't want to intrude," Jennifer told her.

Cassie grinned, "Yeah we do," She brought in another couple of bottles of wine and a huge bag of Potato chips.

Sam sighed, "You're here now, come in, get comfortable."

Cassie dove on the couch, stretching her legs out and ripping open the chips.

"Make your self at home," Sam told her sarcastically as she swiped her hand over the door open and close mechanism.

The doors closed and she took a seat at the opposite end of the couch, Vala was busy opening and pouring wine and Jennifer and Teyla stood awkwardly.

Sam gestured to the couch and chairs, "Sit down, you're making me nervous."

They both sat down in chairs and took the glasses of wine that Vala offered. Vala passed glasses to Sam and Cassie and gleefully shoved Cassie's feet out of the way and squeezed in between them.

"So, what are going to talk about?" Vala asked the others, smiling widely, they all sipped their wine silently. "Oh for goodness sake this is supposed to be a party, you know we're supposed to have fun, indulge in girl talk and gossip."

Teyla looked at Sam, "Girl talk?"

Before Sam could open her mouth Vala had launched into a full blown description of the 'earth ritual'. Sam rolled her eyes and ignored the verbal diarrhea her friend frequently suffered, Cassie grinned behind her chips and offered them to Sam over Vala's lap.

Sam took one and decided to shut Vala up. "Actually its an excuse for so called friends to ask probing questions about your private life," she took a large gulp of wine, positive she knew what Vala's response would be.

"Not your private life darling, your sex life," Vala corrected.

Sam narrowed her eyes, "Or lack thereof."

Vala tipped her head, "You're not trying to tell me that wearing that little blue number didn't get you any?"

Sam tried to play innocent and shook her head. Vala looked at her inquisitively.

Sam ignored her and turned to Teyla. "How's Torren? I've not seen him since he was a few weeks old, he's gotten so big."

Vala raised an eyebrow, "Aha, changing the topic, classic diversionary tactic."

Teyla smiled and she too ignored Vala, "He is doing very well, I am pleased to be able to show him his home galaxy, I feared it might not be possible if Atlantis were to stay on Earth."

Sam nodded, "We'd have found a way to get you home."

Jennifer nodded in agreement, "Everything okay with K'naan?"

Teyla nodded and smiled, "Everything is well." She seemed a little embarrassed, totally uncharacteristic, and as usual, Vala spotted the weakness like a cat sniffing out fish.

"There's something else isn't there, what aren't you telling us?" Vala asked her, leaning forwards and staring her down.

Teyla looked away and smiled widely.

"Teyla?" Jennifer prompted, "Come on, don't hold out on us."

Teyla looked up, "K'naan has asked me to become his wife."

The others subconsciously leaned forward waiting for her to continue.

"And?" Vala asked, barely containing herself.

"I accepted." Congratulations and smiles spread all round. "Thank you, we have not yet planned a date but it is traditional for Athosian union ceremonies to take place under the waking of a new moon. It is symbolic of the birth of a new life-partnership, the growing light representing their growing love for one another."

Jennifer smiled widely, "I've never thought of it like that, it's a lovely thought."

Sam silently agreed, she sipped more wine to take away the bitter taste in her mouth caused by her sudden jealousy. Teyla had everything she wanted; she was a leader amongst her people, a formidable warrior, a mother and soon to be a wife. She felt awful with herself for feeling it but it just brought back those unfulfilled desires she had locked away deep in the depths of her heart.

She looked back at the others and realized Teyla had asked about McKay.

"He's actually really sweet," Jennifer defended him. "Yeah he can go on a bit."

Sam snorted before she could stop herself, "Sorry," she apologized quickly.

Jennifer smiled, "Okay, he can go on a lot, forever actually if you let him, but he means well."

Sam nodded in agreement and zoned out again. She was vaguely aware of the conversation turning to Vala and Cassie, Vala complaining about Daniel's lack of enthusiasm and her insistence that he was going to succumb to her charms whether he liked it or not.

She allowed her thoughts to drift to Jack, she wondered what he was doing now, if he ever thought about her, if he missed her as much as she missed him. Don't be stupid, she thought, of course he doesn't miss you, he finished it with you, why would he miss someone he tossed away like yesterdays newspaper, without a second glance or proper goodbye just, _'take the job'._ She remembered that day in vivid detail, his last words reverberating around her skull, _'you don't need me holding you back' _maybe he did care, somehow in his own strange way.

"Sam?" Cassie asked her concerned.

She snapped out of her trance and turned to her, "What?"

Cassie watched her worriedly, "Jennifer asked you a question, are you okay?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah, fine, sorry Jennifer?"

The doctor seemed as happy with her answer as Cassie was, "I was just wondering if anything happened with your older man from Washington."

Vala's eyes lit up, "Older man, Samantha, come on, we want all the details."

Sam sipped her wine to give her time to work out what to say. "Nothing to tell, nothing happened," she didn't even sound convincing to her own ears. Vala wasn't going to buy it not one bit.

"Bull." The woman in question replied without hesitation.

Sam glared at her, "It's the truth."

Vala shook her head, Cassie busied herself with a chocolate bar and looked away.

"Cassandra, what isn't Sam telling us," Vala asked her.

Cassie shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know."

Vala narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Yes you do, something happened between you didn't it?"

Vala turned back to her, "Sam? Don't hold out on us now."

Sam would happily had smacked her in the mouth to make her shut up, "I don't want to talk about it," she replied quietly, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

Vala's tone lost its bubbly edge, it was softer and her words rang with concern, "Sam? What happened?" She knew her friend meant well but she didn't want to drag it up again.

"Back off will ya, she said she doesn't wanna talk about it," Cassie snapped, glaring at the Vala.

Sam put down her wine glass and walked out of the room and out onto the balcony. She took deep gulps of the fresh clean and bitterly cold air, she could hear Cassie and Vala arguing but the strain of bursting into tears prevented her from stopping them. The volume increased and the dam behind her eyes threatened to burst, before she knew what she was doing, she was screaming at them to shut up. She heard the doors opening and the rustling of the bag of potato chips; the stomping feet were Cassie's, she'd never intended to upset her too.

She placed her hands on the railings and tried to stop the tears from falling, footsteps told her one of them was approaching her. She recognized the perfume as Vala placed her arm around her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to upset you, was it that bad?" her friend asked gently.

Sam knew she had to talk about it but she much preferred keeping things bottled up, slowly processing things as she had the time, but this was different. Nothing had changed for her in the past three weeks and it was eating her up inside. She'd spoken briefly to Cassie but there was so much she couldn't say in front of her, she wanted to scream and shout and call him everything under the sun, but Cassie thought of him as a father and whatever he had done to her, she couldn't, wouldn't, do anything to ruin their relationship.

She looked down at the glistening city, "You were right, that blue dress, it was for someone. We had drinks in his room that night and well things heated up from there. He finished it because I got offered this job." She stuttered and felt the first tears falling. Vala squeezed her shoulder reassuringly, "I hate the bastard Vala, the sonofabitch knew how I felt about him and he, just like that. I waited for him for so long, I gave up so much for him because I thought he felt the same way. If it was anyone else I'd think he used me. Like all he wanted was the sex and when I wasn't gonna be around there was no point, but he's different, he's not like that and, he told me, oh it doesn't make any sense."

She sniffed and tried to compose herself, "There'd been, some, tension between us for ages and you know, we were friends; maybe it wasn't what he thought it would be. Maybe if I'd done things differently, maybe if I hadn't," she allowed her thoughts to drift back to that night in the hotel. The tears picking at her eyes once more, no, she wouldn't change that, their first time, nothing had ever felt so right than being with him. "God I feel so stupid," she stuttered before breaking down once more. She let go of the railing and made herself as small as she could, sitting on the cold metal and drawing her knees up to her chest.

Vala sat down beside her and held her close, "You don't hate him do you?" she asked quietly, rubbing Sam's back with her hand.

Sam shook her head, her heart breaking all over again. "He's such a jerk but I love him Vala, I've loved him for 12 years and I just can't help it, I love him so much."

As Sam sobbed pathetically into Vala's arms, Teyla and Jennifer found themselves feeling both awkward, and, in a somewhat twisted sense, privileged, that Sam trusted them enough to expose her self emotionally to them. Neither of them knew her all that well, but they caught each others eyes and silently agreed, that whatever she needed, they would be there for her as best they could be.

...

Cassie curled up on her bed looking out of the window at the inky black sky dotted with twinkling stars and the bright white of the two visible moons. She could just make out the figures on the balcony several floors up.

Sam was so strong and it killed her to see her in so much pain. She had only ever seen her cry like this twice before, the first when she left her in that abandoned facility thinking she was going to blow up, and the second was when she had told her that her mother had died. Both times she had told Cassie she would never leave her, she would always be there for her, now was the time to repay that debt.

* * *

Again, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6 - The First Step

**LOCATIONS - Earth/Pegasus**

**DATE - July 2010 Onwards**

**LANGUAGE - UK English (Character dialogue will be written to reflect their individual dialects where appropriate and US English terms will be used as far as possible.)**

**Side note - SGU does not exist in this universe.**

**Changes in date/location are denoted by a heading in bold.**

**Original A/N:** Hi guys, sorry its taken so long, I promise the next chapter won't take as long. Thanks for the reviews. Hope you enjoy :)

**Additional A/N **- This is the reformatted/edited version of chapter 6.

* * *

**Chapter 6 - The First Step**

**Earth – October 18****th**

Jack sat on Daniel's living room floor surrounded by a mess of books and papers, he had scribbled notes on scraps of paper and, after deciding they were so far off track it wasn't even funny, had tossed them all at the bin, many had missed and crumpled paper balls littered the floor. He stared at the clues for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

_When the mountain gods of fire awaken, Grace alone can ponder the ebbing of the tides in a five score seclusion. Once more to the place of shelter and 2 clicks to the triangle, the chariot of age awaits. From whence the agent of Hades army is completed, retrieve the stairway to the Lord._

He picked up the pen and started writing again, it was logical that _'when the mountain gods of fire awaken'_ meant a volcanic eruption, Efajuiggywhatsit in Iceland went up in April and that was before he retired so he assumed another volcano was just waiting to blow. He'd refrained from calling the US Geological Survey to tell them an unknown volcano was going to erupt sometime this year, but had found their website useful. He'd been acting like a huge geek, worse than Sam and Daniel, hell worse than Jonas, he had been watching the activity reports and had even read up about a couple of volcanoes.

He decided to have a look on Daniel's computer at the USGS website; you never know when something interesting might happen, like venting. He mentally head slapped himself, oooh, Merapi in Indonesia was becoming more active, hmm, he hadn't checked that one out. He clicked on the link to open the information page and was ecstatic when he read what it said. Apparently, _'Meru'_ means mountain, specifically referring to Hindu mountain gods and _'api'_ means fire.

"Yes!" he shouted out loud, he finally felt like he was getting somewhere. He looked back at the letter, _'when Mount Merapi erupts, I can ponder the ebbing of the tides in a five score seclusion.'_ I can think about something for 100, what minutes, hours, days? 100 days? What was so special about that?

He thought back to Daniel trying to teach him Ancient in those godforsaken time loops. Pure torture, when Daniel had mistranslated 'let go' as 'surrender' for the tenth time he had had to control his temper and not throw something at him. He wondered if there was anything about the first set of instructions that would help him figure this out.

_Island brother of the creator transport the listener to the seat of the carrier of thunder, and the beholder of lightening, the faithful one given eternity by the father himself._

Island brother of the creator, well the creator in Greek mythology was Prometheus, his brother was Atlas and the island he lived on was Atlantis. Samantha literally means listener, Atlantis transport Samantha to the _'seat of the carrier of thunder and the beholder of lightening'_ well Zeus obviously. The seat of Zeus was Pegasus who was rewarded for his faith by Zeus and given a home in the stars. Easy when he read it back, Atlantis transports Samantha to the Pegasus galaxy.

His smile faded when he thought about what it had taken to get her there, he had had no choice but to end the relationship in order to ensure she left with the expedition. He knew that if he hadn't she would have been tempted to stay as commander of the Hammond, semi-regular down time every three months, journeying between the two galaxies and all on her beloved Daedalus class battlecruiser complete with new juiced up Asgard core.

He'd have been hard pushed to get her to go to Atlantis, ten times the paperwork, ten times the stress, ten times the hassle, the interference of the IOA, those 'exhaustive reviews' and that was forgetting the Wraith and the big pain in the ass that was 'Todd'. He'd been put in stasis when Atlantis had been anchored in San Francisco, feeding him was nothing sure of an ethical mine field, he'd had an idea, feed him all the worst sicko's on death row. Needless to say, it hadn't gone down well.

Knowing Sam had to go he had pulled in a few favours before his retirement and got SG1 reassigned, if he couldn't be there to protect her from whatever was coming he damn well needed to know there was someone he could trust. He had managed to convince everyone that with the threat to the Milky Way galaxy an all time low the flagship team would be better suited to assist in the exploration and defense of Atlantis. He threw in the old chestnut _'Atlantis is Earth's last line of defense, if Atlantis falls Earth is doomed'_ into the mix and that got brows sweating until they signed the paperwork.

He had a bad feeling about leaving people on Earth; his gut told him something bad was going to go down and if Sam needed to be in Atlantis, then there was no place safer for Cassie than by her side. Janet had left her in their care and he was damned if he was going to let anything happen to her too. He thought about her graduation from med school, Janet would have been so proud. He had congratulated her by calling her Doc Frasier and it had brought a lump to the throats of all who knew her. He couldn't have been more proud when she was sworn in and decorated with her 2nd Lieutenants pins a few weeks later, he couldn't believe that she was all grown up, that little girl from Hanka, the little girl who had stolen Sam's heart in an instant.

Oh Sam, he missed not seeing her, he'd told himself it was no different to him being in Washington whilst she darted across the galaxy or her previous assignment to Atlantis or her stint on the Hammond, but it was. Back then he hadn't woken up with her beside him, her features soft, relaxed, and not tensed at some doohickey. He hadn't lain there just watching her sleep and enjoying the way the glow of the rising sun caressed her features. He hadn't wrapped his arms around her and snuggled into her neck, inhaling her scent, the cuddling becoming nuzzling and gentle kissing and the kissing becoming more. She hadn't rolled over in his arms, her eyes bright and twinkling as her smile lit up her whole face, and wrapped her arms around him holding him close, and she hadn't called him Jack. For two blessed months, she had called him Jack, none of the Sir's or Colonels or Generals that had been like daggers to his heart for so long. God he missed her and it was never going to be the same again.

Worst of all it was his fault, he knew he had to do it and he knew how she'd react. Ever since that Zat'arc business, he had known she loved him too. He thought the worst it could get was watching her marry another man, knowing she could never be his. He was wrong, this was worse; it was so much worse he couldn't put a number on it, it was infinitely times worse. He hadn't been able to look at her as he walked out of the door, he knew she was breaking, but he was breaking too. If he'd looked back she would have seen he didn't mean it and she would have made him explain. He couldn't risk it, not with the warning telling him explicitly that he couldn't tell anyone.

He dragged his thoughts back from their dark depths and looked back at the words on the paper in front of him, they were just words now, no meaning. If it wasn't that it was written in a very familiar hand he would have given up long ago and lost himself in the bottle.

This was obviously all about her, she had never given up on him and he wasn't about to start giving up on her now. She had worked her fingers to the bone to find a way to get him home when he had been stuck on another planet.

Hang on, 100 days, wasn't he stuck on P3 something, Laira's planet, about that long? The first statement and the warning had been plays on names and attributes; perhaps this ebbing tides thing was related to someone's name. He Googled the meaning of Laira and found it meant 'to ebb, or grow shallow' it definitely meant Edora. He put together what he had so far.

When Mount Merapi erupts he should go to Edora. Okay, then what was he supposed to do on Edora?

_Once more to the place of shelter and 2 clicks to the triangle, the chariot of age awaits._

Place of shelter, the cave? Okay 2 clicks, to the triangle? What the hell did triangle mean, bearings are in numbers not goddamn shapes! It must be a math clue, numbers to do with triangles, wasn't there something special about different triangles. The ones that were all equal and ones where some of the sides were different lengths? What is the same, oooh, he thought, I know this, the angles inside all equal 180 degrees.

So go to the cave, walk 2 clicks at a bearing of 180 and he'd find this chariot of age, hmmm, ominous thought there, age, age, age, age, didn't Daniel have a thesaurus somewhere? He rummaged about in the piles of books and finally found it buried under some dusty volume on the Yu the Great, Jack had to shake his head. He felt some poor 'Yu' jokes forming and decided they were best left unsaid, although if he was able to formulate really bad Goa'uld jokes then he was definitely cheering up.

He flicked through the thesaurus and found it _'age, 1) advancing years, decrepitude, dotage, old age, senility 2) days, epoch, era.'_ Oh you gotta be kidding me, he thought when he saw the next word, 'time' it's a frigging time machine ain't it? If this has anything to do with Janus someone is gonna pay, big time!

Okay, last sentence,

_From whence the agent of Hades army is completed, retrieve the stairway to the Lord._

Ah, he knew this, Hades was god of the underworld, so Hades army was? He thought, and stared, and thought some more, nope, got nothing. Well, stairway to the lord, that's Jacob's ladder right, so he was being told to go back in time and fetch Jacob, why did he suddenly have the idea that this could get real bad, real quick? Sam had said time travel could have all sorts of consequences, what did she call it, causality! Yet here he was, sat with a letter that she had written, telling him, to go back in time, long ago he'd decided if it was technological and Sam said do it, you did it, no questions asked.

He decided to think laterally, when had they seen Jacob during that last year, the big war with the replicators, making that gun thing to kill the Anubis drones, Sam nearly being killed by one, trying to find out what the hell those things were – hey Hades army, army of the underworld, wasn't Anubis something to do with the underworld? He spied a book about Egyptian gods and flicked through to Anubis, associated with mummification and the journey of the dead into the afterlife, hey Hades is usually pictured on his boat on that river to the afterlife, he grabbed the dictionary and thesaurus and quickly found 'agent'. Finally, he knew what he was supposed to do.

When Mount Merapi erupts he should journey to Edora and go to the cave of the ancestors. He should walk 2 clicks at a bearing of 180 degrees and find the time machine puddle jumper thing. He should take it back to when Jacob and Sam had finished the weapon that would kill the Anubis drones and fetch Jacob. He'd have to check the mission files to be sure but that was about a year before he died.

Okay, next step Edora. He allowed his eyes to flick down to the next set of cryptic instructions. Three words jumped out at him _'Napoleonic power monger'_ ah hell!

…

**Earth - 25****th**** October 2010**

Jack turned on his TV and picked up his beer, he was about to pop the lid with his teeth when the new footage made him sit forwards. Mount Merapi was about to erupt; everyone within a 20km radius was being evacuated when the first signs of lava flow reared their ugly heads on the southern and southeastern flanks. It was time; he knew trade delegations to Edora had been scheduled for this week and again in 6 weeks time. He grabbed his phone and dialed Hank. In no time at all, he had got clearance to tag along 'to see how Laira and the boy are doing' the following day.

He had the whole thing planned out, he packed a backpack with a few essentials, Daniel's laptop with all his culture books on CD-rom conveniently loaded onto the hard drive, couple of pairs of clean underwear, deodorant, water, energy bars, and other rations and a spare tee. He was going to give the delegates the slip and find the jumper.

If he were lucky, he'd be able to go back in time to just after the autodestruct blew, dial the gate and find Jacob as soon as he was separated from Sam, but it would be close. If he didn't find him quickly the four hour safety window would stop him getting Jacob back in time for his past self to find him – ah that's a thought, he would have to put him back with a broken leg.

…

**Atlantis, M35-117 – October 25th**

Out in the Pegasus Galaxy it was the middle of the night and everyone not on the night shift was asleep – or trying to sleep. Sam had been listening to the raised voices from the floor below for quite a while now. She didn't know Daniel could shout like that, she didn't want to know what Vala had done to deserve his temper at this time of the night. Suddenly however, the voices had stopped and silence reigned supreme.

Sam was now snuggled up and cozy in the little cocoon she had made herself from her duvet. She reveled in the chance to be alone, for the past week Cassie and Vala had taken it in turns to check on her before she went to sleep and tonight they had finally left her in peace. She was on the verge of falling asleep when she heard a tap at her door.

She opened one eye and glared at the door, the tapping stopped, she closed her eye and buried her head into her pillow. The tapping started again.

"Sam," a female voice whispered.

Sam groaned and pulled the duvet over her head.

"Samantha?" the woman whispered again, her voice trembling slightly, "Samantha, are you asleep?"

Sam groaned and turned her head towards her door. "Yes," she grunted and rolled over. Sam was aware of the doors to her quarters opening, she was sure they were set to open only for her and her senior staff in case of emergencies. She would be having words with Vala when she was awake enough for coherent thought.

The doors closed again and footsteps padded across the room towards her. The bed shifted under the weight of another person and hands grabbed at her duvet. There was a struggle for the duvet, she held on tightly and clamped her legs around it before Vala got the upper hand and yanked it away from her. Sam admitted defeat and tried to snuggle up under her half of the duvet.

"It's gone 2am," she muttered still half asleep.

"I know," Vala sighed before curling up closer to her friend and placing her head on her shoulder.

Sam closed her eyes searching for patience, "What happened? I could hear you two shouting."

"He was awful to me," she told her.

Sam assumed she was taking no blame whatever situation she had gotten herself into, "Really? I thought you were getting somewhere." She tried to sound interested, she did care about her friend but right this moment, getting some sleep was on the top of her agenda.

"I thought I was, I kissed him and he didn't push me off quite as quickly as he usually does." Vala babbled.

Sam groaned internally, she didn't need to know this.

Vala continued her tale, "So, I kissed him again. He yelled at me and asked me what I was doing, I thought it was obvious but you know Daniel. I spelled it out to him and he started shouting. He said I was an emotionally unstable wreck, manipulative and selfish and I used sex as a weapon because I'm too damaged to make any meaningful friendships or relationships."

Sam wasn't sure how to respond.

Vala lifted her head and looked at her, "You agree with him?"

Sam shook her head, "You used to be, you can still manipulate anything to your advantage and that has been useful in the past but you're being much more honest with us now. Since you joined SG1 you've changed, you've got friends, and you put other people first, you risked your life to stop the Ori completing their beach head, remember that."

Vala snuggled down under the duvet, "One selfless act amongst the lying and cheating and stealing, why would he ever want me?"

Sam groaned internally, why did she have to have these conversations about Daniel.

"The first selfless act of many, you're clever, you're attractive," Sam replied slowly.

Vala sniffed beside her, "You're struggling to find nice things to say about me because I'm an awful, awful person."

Sam glared at the ceiling. "You've got a good heart."

Vala looked up at her, "Really?" She smiled and laid her head back down on Sam's shoulder, she closed her eyes and wriggled around.

"Comfy are you?" Sam asked her irritably.

Vala nodded, "Very."

Sam yawned, "Too bad, out."

Sam lifted the duvet from Vala's shoulders. Vala pulled it back over her, she looked up at Sam and blinked innocently.

"That might work with Daniel but it won't work with me." Sam told her shortly.

Vala rolled onto her back and lay looking at the ceiling, Sam rolled her eyes, wait for it, wait for it.

"I can't sleep in new places," came the unexpectedly quiet reply.

"Why?" Sam asked softly.

"I don't feel safe." Vala turned her back on Sam and lay quietly. Sam waited for her to continue. "Perhaps it stems from all the moving around I did as a child, Jaycek and his deals, we were always in hiding, I remember being terrified that if I went to sleep, he wouldn't be there when I woke up."

Sam knew how Vala could pull a line when she needed to but there was something about this story that made her believe it, Vala looked you in the eye when she lied and she sounded genuinely hurt.

Sam placed her hand on her friend's shoulder, "Okay, just tonight," she waited for Vala to respond, "the couch is over there," she added.

Vala turned back to look at her, Sam could see it in her eyes that she was being truthful by all that she had said, a small grateful smiled played on her lips and not the huge grin she usually had plastered on her face when she got her own way.

Vala made no move to leave the bed and instead curled up and snuggled into the pillow and covers.

"Vala, the couch,"

Vala played the innocence card again, "its warmer just here."

Sam frowned; she didn't have the heart – or the energy - to boot her friend out. "Fine, but go to sleep or lay quietly."

Vala nodded eagerly and closed her eyes.

Sam closed her eyes and turned on her side, she was starting to relax when the bed moved, Vala was turning over beside her. Her eyes snapped open and she narrowed them over her shoulder as Vala continued to wriggle and toss.

"Would you keep still?" Sam snapped.

"I'm trying to get comfortable Samantha," Sam pulled the duvet over her head and groaned; she was never going to get any sleep.

…

**Edora - 26****th**** October 2010**

Jack gave the delegates the slip on Edora, he remembered the terrain well and disappeared off into the brush before they even knew he was missing. He hurried along the dry dirt tracks and took a moment to stop by the river, that water had given him solace when he thought all hope was lost. Even though everything he knew was taken from him he was still able to fish, still able to do something that reminded him of home.

He headed off to the rockier terrain housing the cave at a run. The solid ground sent shockwaves up his legs and jolted his knees and hips. He winced as his knees caused him pain every other step. He hadn't put them through this kind of exercise for a while now and boy could he feel why. He slowed to a jog and was relieved when the cave appeared in the distance.

He pulled his compass from the breast pocket of his backpack and held it up, the arrow spun and gradually came to a stop. 180 degrees was ahead and slightly to the right, straight into the mountains. He cursed under his breath, pulled of his cap and smoothed his hair; he pulled the cap on again determinedly and continued his torturous walk.

He had walked the 2 km as the crow flies but if you factored in the ascent up every hill and then the dreaded descent, it was probably more like 5. He reached the top of one of the slopes and looked around; he slowly descended a few metres and sat in the dry dusty soil. He should be able to see the jumper, or signs of its hiding place at least but he could see nothing but more dust.

The wind picked up suddenly and blew the dust into a swirling cloud; it sped across the small valley and fell onto an invisible object. Jack slid down the barren slope, walked to the apparently levitating dust, and ran his hand down the cold metal of the invisible puddle jumper. He smiled and thought it would be nice to get inside and get going on the mission. The back door opened downwards into the dirt and Jack walked inside.

The door closed behind him without him needing to think about it explicitly. He turned sideways to pass the time machine without touching it - it wasn't like he'd got Sam to fix it if he broke it. He sat down in the control chair and dumped his bag on the other one. He touched the control panel, it started humming, and lit up, okay, he thought, February 6th 2004, 10am. Nothing happened. He thought the time and date again, still nothing.

One of the lights flashed insistently, almost like it was trying to tell him something. What had Sam said about the time travel machine, causality, grandfather paradox, a couple of hundred years, the machine only works in jumps of a couple of a hundred years. Great, he was going to have to go back in time 2 or 3 hundred years, return to 5 years ago to get Jacob and then go back in time 2 or 3 hundred years again, before returning 6 years ago to fetch Janet, ah hell, this was going to take forever! He glared at the control panel, okay, have it your way, 1700 AD please, oh crap, he hoped he wasn't walking into another meteor shower.

…

**Atlantis, M35-117 – October 25****th**

Sam was tired, stressed, grumpy and miserable. She hadn't slept properly since their arrival in Pegasus, her mind was constantly whirring and she couldn't seem to relax. Her headache was back with a vengeance too, she put it down to the sleep deprivation and made a mental note to seek out Teal'c help in meditation – she was willing to try anything. She glanced at her watch, SGA1 was due to return from a reconnaissance mission any time now and SG1 (now with their new resident scientist, Jennifer Hailey (that had been strange, replacing herself on the team) were due back in a couple of hours. Her friends might live on the same base as her but she didn't really see them – except Vala inviting herself into her room in the middle of the night and that didn't really count.

The rest of the expedition had arrived with the Apollo and others through the gate bringing further supplies and, inevitably, paperwork. That was all she seemed to do these days, approve requisition forms, sign off on missions and make oh so important decisions about, potatoes. The segue made her think of Jack and his first days in charge of the SGC. His rant about the cafeteria staff complaining about their potato delivery being unsuitable for mash brought a small smile to her lips, she remembered his response, _'I told em to make French fries'._

The Stargate suddenly awoke, the inner workings whirring, finally, she thought. She left her office and crossed the walkway as the chevrons lit up a bright turquoise one by one.

"Sheppard's IDC," the tech called up.

"Open the iris," she told him heading through the hexagonal room to the stairs. She waited at the top of the stairs as the electromagnetic iris was stopped and Sheppard, Ronan, Teyla and McKay ran through and ducked.

"Close the iris!" McKay yelled as he dropped to the ground, his face bloodied from a cut to his cheek, Teyla had a gash on her arm and Sheppard and Ronan both sported various small cuts and grazes.

The tech obeyed but not before a single spear flew out from the event horizon straight at Sam, she ducked and jumper out of the way. The wormhole shut down and Sam stared at the spear and then at her team, "I take it the locals aren't friendly."

"You don't say," McKay retorted holding up his tablet, the screen was cracked in two, a short dagger like weapon protruding from the centre. Sam had to fight back a laugh at the way he looked at it, like his best friend had died.

"Go on, report to the infirmary," she told them as they passed her.

"We know the drill," John replied smiling.

"I'm fine, don't see why I gotta go," Ronan moaned.

"Because I told you to," Sam replied trying not to sound dictatorial.

Ronan nodded, "I'm still fine though, waste of everyone's time."

The group headed off up the stairs leaving a trail of dirt behind them. For some reason Sam found the mess on the floor irritating, like someone had trod mud all over her carpets at home. She looked round at the gate techs, "Get someone to clean this up," the young woman nodded and tapped her radio. Great Sam, she thought, you're getting over excited about a bit of mud on a polished floor, you really are bored. She turned and started back up the stairs when the Stargate started whirring again, the chevrons started to click and she whirled around.

"No teams due back until 18.00," a tech told her, confirming what she already knew.

The wormhole activated and the vortex spilled into the room before being sucked back into the gate to form the event horizon.

"Close the iris," she told them, the electromagnetic shield came into place and they waited with baited breath.

"No IDC," the tech stated after a few moments.

The shield bowed outwards briefly like it was losing integrity and a round shape came through the force field, bending the electromagnetic waves around it before passing through it completely. The gate shut down and Sam stared at the object, it was very familiar to her, she had seen several of them before.

She tapped her radio and spoke clearly, "SGA1 to the gate room," she looked back at the sleek white elongated ovoid floating several feet from the ground.

Footsteps approached behind her.

"Oh my god," McKay exclaimed coming to a stop beside her, "Is that?" he asked.

She nodded.

"How is that possible?" John asked from somewhere over her shoulder.

"Where the hell did it come from?" Ronan asked loudly.

Sam walked purposefully towards it and looked down into the frosted cover, "I haven't a clue."

McKay was itching to get closer to the device but Sam caught his arm. "Don't touch it, we don't know what's inside or why."

He took his hand away and put them behind his back, "I'll just look."

Sam narrowed her eyes at him. They both spotted the runes written on the side at the same time, they looked like they had been engraved with a fine laser.

"That's the rune for 5," McKay stayed pointing at one.

"I don't want anyone near it until Daniel gets back to translate that writing," she stated to the room.

McKay was obviously put out and skulked around it inspecting every inch of it. When he thought Sam wasn't looking, he reached out to the keypad.

"Ah!" she shouted, "I said don't touch."

John shook his head at him, "You're worse than a little kid in a toy store."

…

**Edora - 26****th**** October 2010**

Jack looked around him, nothing looked very different, he took off and headed back towards the village. He circled the settlement, yep that looked different, that building got blown up during that meteor shower for a start, he thought to himself, surrounding it were other buildings he had never seen before. Right, perfect, he headed on past the buildings towards the 'stone circle' as the locals called it. Checking no one was nearby he punched in the address for the old Alpha site, the chevrons lit up and the familiar kawoosh reached his ears. The event horizon rippled before him - that would never get old.

He flew the jumper through the middle of the gate and a few seconds later he arrived on what would become the Alpha site. He allowed himself a few moments to relax and found a nice neat spot a little way beyond the tree line in the direction Jacob was due to flee. He flexed his fingers and placed them on the control panel and thought February 6th 2004, 10am, once again. The time machine pulsed and he found his view obscured by trees, he realized with a start the jumper was probably crushing vegetation beneath it and took off quickly. He hovered above the trees and looked down into the Alpha site.

He saw Jacob and Sam running full pelt from one of the buildings, an Anubis drone following them. He thought for a minute how easy it would be to take it out with one of the jumper's drones and felt it vibrate before he thought no quickly. Causality, he heard Sam say in his head, he couldn't do anything that would change history.

A second Anubis drone ran from the building and Sam and Jacob headed into the trees, the autodestruct blew and the shock wave jostled the jumper. He looked down into the dust to see a one drone stumble and continue after Sam and Jacob. A little closer to the centre of the explosion he saw a second drone moving, the dirt slipped off its black attire as it climbed to its feet. That wasn't right; he distinctly remembered finding that drone blown to bits in the dirt. He looked around, and saw no one; it would just sound like a secondary explosion right? He fired two of his drones quickly at the Anubis drone. The force of the explosion ripped its torso in two. Damn he thought, it would have been so easy to get rid of the bastards with one of these.

He looked down on the main display and thought, 'life signs' several dots appeared and he headed for the closest. He felt a pang of guilt as he neared the soldier, he was badly injured and Jack recognized him as one of those that didn't make it. The life sign disappeared before his eyes and he hurried off to the next.

As he got closer he saw it was not one life sign but two moving together, ah ha, it had to be Jacob and Selmak. He chased it down until Jacob's balding head was visible beneath him; he looked around and set the jumper down in front of his target. He opened the door and grabbed Jacob before he had a chance to react. His thought told the jumper to close quickly and it did, Jacob was struggling in his arms by now.

He let go of Jacob and stepped far enough from him to be out of harm's way.

"Jack? What the hell are you playing at? How did you get here?" he asked.

Jack took a deep breath and put on one of his trademark grins, "Hey dad, long time no see eh?"

Jacob looked at him incredulously, "Have you seen Sam, we need to find her, now." He around him as if only realizing his surroundings for the first time. "What the hell is this?"

Jack sat down in his seat, "Okay, quick version, it's an Ancient ship, that's a time machine and I've come back from the future to get your help."

Jacob stared at him, "My daughter is out there being chased by an Anubis drone and you're making jokes!"

"Actually I'm being deadly serious," he predicted what was going to happen so touched the control panel and thought 1700AD again. Jacob started as the time machine pulsed; he looked through the window, his eyes darting around noting the changes in the landscape.

"Where are we?" Selmak demanded.

Jack lifted his hand, "Hi ya Selmy, we're still on the Alpha site, it's just a different year."

The Tok'ra glared at him, "Impossible, the Ancients experimented with time travel and there is no evidence that even they succeeded."

Jack tapped the jumper, "One did, with this little baby."

Jacob stared back, "Jack what the hell is going on. We need to go and find Sam."

Jack pulled the letter from his pocket, "She'll be fine, the day I retired I received this in the post," he passed it to Jacob.

Jacob read it, "This writing's familiar."

Jack nodded, "I know." Jacob sat down and read it, "So now ya know Sam lives long enough for someone to send me that letter sorting out her future can you calm down?"

Jacob nodded, still concentrating on the letter, "Holy Hannah," he muttered, obviously studying its content.

Jack waited until Jacob had finished reading it before continuing his tale, "Now we're safe for the foreseeable, I'm assuming I had to pick you up first for Selmak's knowledge, we're gonna need safe places to hang out between pick ups."

Jacob looked at him, "That's easy enough."

Jack smiled, "Safe places a minimum of 200 years before 2005, the machine only works in jumps of a couple of hundred years or more," he added shrugging his shoulder.

"I am sure I will find some suitable locations although I am still not convinced time travel is wise." Selmak replied.

"Selmak, Selmak, I'm pretty sure this was all planned out somewhere. I just saved your butt out there. One of those drones was coming after you. Before you say anything, I only did it cos I knew I'd already done it," he voice tailed off as he ended his sentence.

"Jack that made absolutely no sense at all." Jacob told him.

Jack nodded slowly, "This is why I always needed Sam to explain things."

Jacob raised an eyebrow at the use of his daughter's given name. "Sam?" he repeated.

"Did I say Sam? I meant Carter," Jack muttered.

Jacob frowned.

"I'll try again, when I come and find you in 2004 I find an Anubis drone blown to bits, when I was sat in the jumper it was still walking, I realized it was only blown to bits because I blew it up in the first place in order to save your life." Jack explained.

Selmak nodded slowly, "A self fulfilling prophecy, interesting."

Jack nodded, he pulled Daniel's laptop out from his bag and passed it to Selmak, no, Jacob, Jacob was back in control.

"Now what? I assume you have a plan," he asked the younger man.

Jack grinned, "Actually it's not my plan, it's theirs." He pointed at the letter, "I've worked out the first three clues written in cryptobabble, it's your turn to work out when and where we have to get Janet from."

…

**Atlantis, M35-117 – October 25th**

Sam, sat in the conference room watching McKay pace up and down, twitching and turning towards the door.

"How long does it take?" he muttered under his breath.

John caught Sam's eye and rolled his eyes, "Give em a chance, they're not due back for 5 minutes," he told him. The sound of the Stargate firing up filled the room.

"Thank god," Sam muttered under her breath as she headed to the door.

The gate technician called up to the group, "SG1's IDC Colonel."

She nodded, "Open the iris," she was bored of those three words already, its not like you could say it any differently without looking like a complete fruitcake.

The iris disappeared and a few moments later the five people sauntered out, the grins on their faces turning to looks of confusion – or in Teal'c's case, lifted an eyebrow.

It was Cam who spoke first, "What the hell is that doin here?"

McKay finally burst, "You think we'd be standing here if we knew?"

Cam squared up to him, "have ya opened it?"

McKay folded his arms, "no, we've been told to wait till Dr Jackson translates the runes."

Daniel eagerly hurried forwards and pushed his glasses up his nose, Vala bounced up behind him, "So, what does it say?" she asked eagerly. Daniel frowned, "Does it contain treasures of immeasurable value?"

Sam nudged her friend out of the way, "Vala, let him work, and why would it have treasure in it?"

Vala folded her arms and nudged Sam back. "I don't know do I darling," she shoved her head over Daniel's shoulder.

Daniel continued studying the outside of the pod whilst trying to ignore Vala, "It's definitely an Asgard stasis pod," he stated sounding unsure of himself.

"No, really?" McKay butted in sarcastically.

'But where did it come from?' Daniel wondered out loud.

"Wouldn't we all like to know," McKay continued with the sarcasm.

Daniel read the glyphs aloud tracing each symbol with his finger, "Only the touch of the fifth race will access the star within."

…

High above the planet in the cloaked hourglass ship a creature watched the occupants of Atlantis on her holographic monitor. She turned to her crew, her amber eyes flashed and she grinned exposing short, pointed, white teeth and black gums. 'It is here,' she hissed in her alien tongue, 'but it is not yet time. We must be patient my children for when the time is upon us we can devour all who stand in our way.' She walked to the window and looked out at the sky, her reflection clear on the glass like substance.

Her skin was smooth and mid-purple, her form, humanoid, tall and slim, pert breasts covered in a deep purple kind of scale that wound it's way down her back to cover her buttocks and groin like a very revealing bikini. Her face was beautiful, even with its purple colour, with her wide eyes, full lips and cheekbones to die for. Her thick hair was a deep vibrant maroon; it was pulled back into cornrows from the hairline to the crown and fell in a glossy sheet to below her breasts. Other members of her crew had black, red and brunette hair of varying lengths, all thick, glossy, and pulled into cornrows. They were all physically attractive, tall and imposing, but most intriguingly; there wasn't a male in sight.

* * *

Once again, all comments and feedback is appreciated.


	7. Chapter 7 - Gift from Above

**A/N: **Thank you very much to everyone who has read and reviewed, new reviews really make my day. Hoping to get chapters up more quickly now, uni is finished (don't know whether to be happy or sad, end of an era) and the action is moving faster so its easier to write.

K - thank you, that's so sweet. So lovely to be compared to a professional writer. (I'd have replied directly to the review if I was able, thank you again for the lovely review)

**Chapter 7 - Gift from Above**

Sam looked at him, 'the fifth race?' Daniel nodded, 'right, so,' he touched the pod but nothing happened. By now a group had crowded around the pod, McKay reached out and pressed the combination to open the pod and again nothing happened, 'I'm sure that's the standard combination,' Sam nodded, 'it is,' Sheppard reached out and did the same, again, nothing, 'perhaps it detects the ATA gene,' McKay suggested. 'No, if it was that then it would have worked when I touched it,' Daniel replied, deep in thought.

Cam shrugged his shoulders and reached out, 'can't hurt right,' nothing, then Vala, again nothing. 'This doesn't make any sense,' Daniel shook his head and stared at the text. Cam looked at Sam, 'Thor called us the fifth race right? So why isn't it working?' Daniel looked up smiling, 'of course,' he took Sam's hand and placed it on the pod.

The pod started to glow a bright white, the group leaped back, 'okay, what happened?' Daniel was grinning from ear to ear, 'You are the fifth race,' he repeated Thor's words, 'Thor said it to specifically, to Sam.' The glow faded and the surface of the pod seemed to melt away.

Sam looked inside the pod and at first she thought it was empty, the white padded seat having nothing on it, but upon close inspection, she saw a cream fleece blanket wrapped around something and placed where the Asgard's feet would have lain. She reached in and carefully touched the blanket, it moved. She retracted her hand quickly expecting something to fly out at her, but the blanket lay still again.

She reached back in and carefully unfolded the blanket; she was stunned by what she saw. She heard herself gasp, 'Holy Hannah,' she muttered causing the others to start. 'What, what is it?' Daniel asked from behind her. Wrapped inside the soft blanket was a human infant, no more than 9 or 10 weeks old, dressed in a white and yellow all-in-one with 'mommy's little star' embroidered on the front and matching white hat, apparently fast asleep. It started to twitch a little as it slept, its tiny fingers curled into fists. She stared at the child frozen in time, barely aware of the footsteps approaching her. Daniel stood beside her and followed her gaze, 'oh my god, it's a baby,' he breathed. 'Wearing earth clothing?' Sam was confused.

Teyla approached with Jennifer Hailey and squeezed into the group, everyone looking down at the sleeping infant with daft smiles on their faces. They stayed in that position for several minutes before Ronan stuck his head over the pod, 'I don't get it,' he said rather loudly and gruffly. The baby flexed its fingers and scrunched up its nose seconds before the small mouth opened and its loud piercing cry reached their ears.

Teyla instinctively reached in and picked the child up, holding it to her and bouncing it gently trying to calm it. The crying subsided a little and then started up again, 'shhh, shhhh, little one,' Teyla spoke softly and soothingly, continuing to hold the infant close but to no avail.

Sam was suddenly overcome with the urge to comfort the child herself, 'let me try,' she asked Teyla reaching out for the baby. Teyla nodded and Sam took the infant and cradled it in her arms, 'hey, what's all this noise about…' she faltered as the familiar tingling sensation spread through her body. She stared at the small baby, its cries subsided as she talked to it and rocked it gently. It blinked and looked straight up at her, the large blue eyes fixed on her face. 'Hello, that's better isn't it, eh?' as if in response the child lifted her arm up towards Sam's face and gurgled at her.

Daniel must have realized something was wrong, 'Sam?' he asked, she tore herself away from the little face, Vala looked at her meaningfully, 'you feel it too?' she asked her. Sam nodded, 'I just don't understand how.' They both stared at the infant once more, 'someone wanna share with the rest of the class?' Cam asked irritably.

'I sense naquadah,' Sam replied, Teyla and Ronon stared at her confused, 'what is naquadah?' Teyla asked, 'it's the metal the gate's made from,' seeing the confusion return she added, 'I have it in my blood due to the Tok'ra symbiote I once carried briefly. Vala has it from her time as Goa'uld host, it gives us the ability to sense naquadah in others.'

A flash of realization washed over Vala, 'that's how you know its me when I sneak up on you, you cheat.' Sam smirked, 'no one else bounces in like a kangaroo on drugs.' Vala feigned pain and looked back down at the baby, 'but why has this little one got it in their blood? I can't imagine a Goa'uld would take an infant for a host.' Daniel was staring at the infant, 'I don't think its that. Shifu had naquadah in his blood because his parents were hosts,' Sam met his gaze, 'you think the child is a harcesis,' Sam asked.

Daniel thought, he squinted, licked his lips and opened his mouth for a second before he voiced his theory, 'Not necessarily. We know naquadah was introduced to the Goa'uld physiology at some point. The latest theory is the Goa'uld evolved a system of naquadah binding proteins allowing them to store and utilize the element in their blood, in much the same way we store iron. We also know the naquadah is transferred to the host, presumably with those same binding proteins, the genetic marker left behind in a former host could be those binding proteins. Could the same principles not apply in human reproduction, a transfer from parent to child via semen, the placenta and following that, breast milk. I mean, how many symbiotes have been removed from their hosts bodies? For all we know Sam, the baby is attracted to the naqauadah in your blood and senses you're safe because one or both of his or her parents was a former host.'

Sam tipped her head to the side and thought for a moment, 'its possible,' she thought for a moment and pulled a face, 'Adria didn't have naquadah in her blood though,' Vala jumped in, 'she was genetically altered to be the spawn of satanic ascended beings, hell bent on intergalactic domination, she doesn't count.' The three friends thought again, 'Didn't your goddaughter have an explosive made of naquadah in her?' McKay asked staring at the baby as if it might explode.

Sam spoke without taking her focus off the baby in her arms, 'I'm going to take this little one to the infirmary and get him or her a check up, and a scan to be safe.' Vala peered over Sam's shoulder, 'and finds out if it's a him or her; well we can't keep calling it 'it' now can we? That would be rude,' Daniel raised an eyebrow, 'and you stringently abide by appropriate social etiquette at all times.' Vala looked offended briefly, before smiling widely, 'yes darling I do, when I have respect for such etiquette.'

…

Jacob stared at the letter, 'you want me to translate that?' Jack nodded, he nudged the laptop closer to Jacob and patted it smiling. Jacob cleared his throat and began to read aloud,

_'When the children of the courtesan of the gods are provided for, the time will be upon you, journey to where the Rebel's Young are Kept in Liberation and take napoleon before she can monger her power.' _

He held the letter tightly, waving it around, 'what is that supposed to mean, it's a riddle,' Jack sighed, 'it's cryptic, it's supposed to be hard to understand in case it fell into the wrong hands.' Jacob stared at it again, 'how do you know it means you have to get Janet?' Jack pursed his lips, 'I used to call her a Napoleonic power monger,' Jacob moved his head noncommittally. 'Fair enough but what does the rest mean?' Jack nudged the laptop again, 'I suggest you look up 'courtesan of the gods'' Jacob's head bowed and Selmak took control, 'and why should we do it?' 'I've done all the hard work so far, besides I fancy a nap.' Jack stretched out his legs and pulled his cap over his face.

…

Jennifer brought up the scan results on her computer, 'she's fine, no sign of a symbiote or any Goa'uld devices,' Sam bounced the baby on her hip, 'hello, so you're a girl are you.' She cooed back, her eyes fixed on Sam. Jennifer returned to the bed, 'okay, lay her down,' the young doctor told her picking up her stethoscope. Sam smiled at the baby as Jennifer removed the little hat and started unbuttoning the all in one, she rubbed the stethoscope with her hand and placed it on baby's chest. The infant followed it with her eyes and pulled a face as it touched her bare skin, her bottom lip began to quiver and her blue eyes filled with tears. She looked up at Sam as if to say 'why are you doing this to me?' and started crying. Sam stroked the fair head and talked to her softly, she looked up at her with teary eyes but was quieter.

'Everything sounds fine, I'd like to listen to her lungs too,' she carefully pulled the all-in-one off completely, 'can you pick her up and hold her up to you so her back's exposed?' Sam nodded and carefully lifted the little girl up, her smile was replaced with a grimace as a small hand grabbed the end of her plait and pulled. 'Ow, that hurts,' she tried to extricate her hair from the little fingers but the grasp was fierce. 'Ow, ow, ow,' Jennifer finished listening to the baby's lungs and looked up at the source of the noise, she carefully released Sam's hair from her grip. 'At this age they haven't mastered letting go yet,' she told Sam, 'ah,' Sam flicked her plait over the opposite shoulder.

'This the latest addition to the Stargate-kid club?' Cassie asked bouncing up behind Sam, she reached out and tickled the tiny girl, 'aww, she's gorgeous, naquadah?' the little face looked up at her and studied her intensely. Sam nodded, 'she's safe, we didn't expect to find anything though.' Cassie smiled, 'You're lucky you found Sam, she'll take great care of you,' Sam turned to her young charge, 'er, Cassie, I'm not keeping her.' Cassie grinned, 'who said anything about keeping her?' Sam frowned, 'you just did,' Cassie shook her head smiling widely, 'no, you did, I said you'd take care of her, you took care of me but you didn't keep me did you?' Sam thought for a moment, Cassie raised an eyebrow and cocked her head.

'Cassie, do you want to check her eyes and see if she's teething please,' Jennifer asked, adding notes to a file on her computer. Cassie nodded and took out a tiny pen torch, she dangled her dog tags in front of the baby to get her attention and carefully flashed the torch over her eyes, 'reactions are fine,' she pulled a funny face and the little girl opened her mouth and cooed. Cassie took the opportunity to inspect the gums and gently ran her index finger inside the small mouth, 'no teeth, no sign of a white cap either.'

Jennifer looked round, 'she seems healthy, probably a little under three months judging by her size and lack of a white cap, what are you going to do with her?' Sam smiled down at the baby, 'I don't know, but I know I'm going to have to have a long chat with the SGC and the IOA.' Jennifer nodded, 'Thinking of the IOA, I should probably take a DNA sample to confirm she's all human.' Sam nodded and Cassie took a swab and gently rubbed the inside of the baby's cheek, she sealed it and labeled it.

Sam laid the little girl back down on the bed, redressed her in the all-in-one, and put her hat back on. McKay entered the infirmary and watched her with the infant, 'so, boy or girl?' he asked approaching her quietly. Cassie smiled, 'a little girl,' he smiled back, 'how's she doing?' 'she's fine,' Jennifer told him coming to join the little group. 'so we gonna give her a name or keep calling her, her?' Cassie asked, looking at Sam in particular. 'I suppose we should think of something, temporarily,' she answered, never taking her eyes off the little girl.

McKay pointed to the star on her chest, 'the message called her a star so maybe her name is that of a star or constellation,' Cassie raised an eyebrow, 'what like Cassie?' He nodded, 'yeah, like Cassiopeia or Andromeda or something, or perhaps something more literal, like Stella,' Jennifer pulled a face, 'Stella's kinda old fashioned, I always liked Estella though,' the others looked at her, 'I liked Great Expectations.' Sam smiles down at the baby, 'are you an Estella?' she asked her, 'what about Ella?' Cassie suggested. Sam nodded, 'I like it, hello little Ella,' the infant grabbed her foot and pulled it to her mouth. Sam picked her up and 'come on Ella, let's introduce you to General Landry.'

A little later...

Sam sat in her office with Ella curled against her, her computer screen was filled with a live video stream from the SGC, Hank was frowning. 'I'll discuss the matter with the IOA and my superiors; I expect they'll want to turn it into a weeklong debate. Due to the mysterious nature of her appearance in Atlantis and the unknown whereabouts of her family, I am going to suggest she remains under your care for at least a month.' Sam nodded, 'Sir, I'm going to need supplies,' he nodded, Ella started to wake up and whimpered, 'I'll sort out a shipment of food and clothing,' Sam smiled. An unpleasant smell reached her nose as Ella started to cry properly, she pulled a face and rubbed her hand up and down Ella's back to soothe her, 'and diapers please, I think she just filled the one she's got on and I don't know when she last had a feed. Oh and pediatric medical supplies, we didn't bring a huge supply, having only Torren to provide for.' Hank smiled, 'and wipes and powder and cream, I remember the drill, I'll have it ready in a few hours and send it through the gate. Landry Out.' The video call ended and she could hear the gate closing beneath her.

Sam pulled a face at the infant in her arms, how did such a small person make such a bad smell. She got up quickly and was careful not to put pressure on the diaper as she carried her as quickly as she could from the room, she tapped her radio, 'Teyla, his is Colonel Carter, where are you?' Sam crossed the walkway as the latter answered, 'I am in my quarters, am I needed somewhere,' Sam headed for the transporter, 'You got a clean diaper I could have?' A warm chuckle reached her ears, 'of course Colonel Carter.' Sam entered the transporter and pressed the right button to take her down to floor 36, 'thanks, I'll be right down.'

Sam knocked on Teyla's door and was greeted by her within moments, Torren blinked up at her from behind his mothers leg, 'hey there,' Sam spoke to him, he hid his face. Teyla stepped back and picked up her son, 'I've got the things out in the bathroom,' she jerked her head in the direction of the bathroom. Sam nodded, 'thanks,' she entered the bathroom and found a changing mat on the floor with a washable diaper, soft cloth, water, mild soap and a white powder she assumed worked like talc. She noted the mat was earth made and assumed either Rodney, John or one of the others had bought her it.

She got down on her knees, laid Ella down on her back and unfastened the poppers on the all-in-one. She gingerly unfastened the disposable diaper and removed it quickly, just when she thought think the smell could get any worse, it did. 'Oh god,' she exclaimed quietly, 'I assume it is a, nasty one?' Teyla asked from the main living area, 'boy is it,' Sam replied. Ella was busy grabbing her ankles and trying to suck her toes. 'You don't care do you?' Sam asked her in a baby voice, 'no you don't,' she tickled the small feet and got a giggle in response.

Sam picked up the soft cloth and dipped it in the water; she carefully lifted Ella's ankles and gently washed her. She let go of the ankles and turned to ring out the cloth, she dried Ella off and applied some of the powder. She reached out to get the diaper and pins and realized she hadn't a clue what to do with it. She remembered something about a triangle or a square; she folded the diaper in half, corner to corner into a triangle and laid it under Ella. She pulled up the points and pinned them together at the front, it would do for now.

She redressed the now squirming baby and lifted her into her arms; she was fussy and clung to Sam's top tightly. Sam stroked her head and bagged up the dirty diaper. She carried both out into Teyla's living room, 'thanks, I don't really know who else to ask, so, how often should she need a feed?' Teyla smiled, 'Torren fed roughly every three hours, she will most likely be ready for a feed within an hour or so,' Sam sucked the inside of her cheek, 'that's what I was afraid of.'

The gate dialed in 2 hours later and a transmission was received from the SGC. Sam ordered the iris open from the walkway, Ella now very agitated in her arms, she started opening her mouth and sticking her tongue out. A MALP slowly made its way through the 'gate laden with packages. Sam tapped her radio, 'This is Colonel Carter, which packages contain formula and bottles?' Walter replied a few moments later, 'I don't know ma'am,' Sam's eyes bulged angrily, 'you don't know, does anyone know?' she watched as Vala darted to the MALP and started picking up the various parcels and shaking them or poking them, 'this one's soft, this one not so soft,' she piled several smaller packages on the floor. 'Sorry ma'am, no.' Sam stormed through the control room, 'Thank you for the delivery Sergeant, Carter out.'

Sam made her way down the stairs with Ella whimpering in her arms, her head resting below Sam's left shoulder. 'We don't have time for that, I need to find the formula and the bottles,' Vala looked up at her friend excitedly, 'well those are addressed to Jennifer, so I'm going to assume we won't find them in there.' She picked up packages and shook them, 'what is formula?' Sam sighed and bent down to the packages, 'powdered milk specially formulated for babies.' 'You need a hand?' John called from the top of the stairs, Cam and Daniel were beside him, 'please,' Sam nodded. Together they started opening the packages, Ella started crying and Sam did her best to soothe her, she wriggled about in Sam's arms and started rubbing her face against her breasts. Sam looked down at her, 'I know, I know,' she told her soothingly, Ella responded with a loud cry and screwed her face up tightly.

Cam looked up and frowned at Ella, 'what is she doing?' Ella continued rubbing her cheek against Sam's breast and crying, 'I assume she's telling me she's hungry,' Sam replied shortly, 'found them!' Daniel held up a sealed pack of bottles, 'you okay Sam? You seem a little, snippy?' Sam glared at him, 'she's been like this for two hours, she's tired and hungry and she's making me feel like some kind of monster. Now can we please find the formula?'

Vala ripped open a particularly large package, 'you really think that's got formula in it?' Sam asked her, 'probably not no, ah, it's a blanket and a plastic covered squashy thing.' Cam took the changing mat from her and shook his head, 'it's a changing mat, you lay the baby on it to change its diaper.' Sam picked up the bottles and blanket and took the mat from Cam. John ripped open a heavier package and held up a canister of formula milk, 'I got milk', 'finally,' Sam replied.

She took the milk and carried everything towards the stairs. 'Where are you going?' Vala called, 'to get her a feed and put her down for nap,' Vala started to pick up some items, 'We'll get all this down to your quarters,' Sam started to nod then caught herself, 'my quarters?' Vala nodded, 'you're looking after her aren't you?' Sam nodded, 'it certainly looks that way,' she continued up the stairs. McKay appeared in front of her, his nose in his tablet, he looked up and caught sight of the pile of packages, 'how much stuff does a baby need?'

…

Jack blinked and licked his lips before taking off his cap and tapping his knees as his eyes adjusted to the light. He looked around him and found Jacob with Daniel's laptop scrutinizing the screen and making notes. 'Found anything good?' Jacob glared at him, 'enjoy your little rest?' Jack didn't miss a beat, 'very refreshing, beds are a bit hard though and the room service is appalling.' Jacob held up the letter, 'The courtesan of the gods in Babylonian culture was Ishtar,' Jack raised his eyebrows, 'Ishta?' 'Yes Jack, Ishta, Teal'c's girlfriend right?' Jack nodded, 'so her children are…' 'the infants she rescued from Moloc, yes, by 'provided for' we assume it means tritonin.' Jack gestured for him to continue, ''Rebels Young are Kept in Liberation', you notice the capitals? They spell out Rky'l, we need to take Janet when she arrives on the planet before giving everyone check ups.' 'And how do you propose we do that?' Selmak took control of Jacob's body, 'the Tok'ra are masters of illusion and secrecy.'

'Course y'are. I'm sorry I forgot, seeing as how every time we meet you guys you're scurrying away from a Goa'uld like ants running away from a kid with a magnifying glass.' Selmak frowned, 'we must hide, stealth and confusion are our only defence against the Goa'uld, we do not have the numbers to mount an army.' Jack stared, 'So you keep telling me.' Jack cloaked the jumper and dialed the gate address for Ryk'l, 'So we go to Ryk'l, then what?' Jacob cocked his head, 'you follow my lead Jack, think you can manage to keep up with a scurrying ant?'

…

Sam entered her quarters and used cushions to form a barricade around the changing mat on the floor. She covered the mat with the blanket, laid Ella down on it and set about making up a bottle. Ella was crying and snuffling quietly, the makeshift bed seemed to ease her a little. Easy right, she thought, just mix up some powder and boiled water, hang on, how much do you give a baby Ella's age? She filled her electric kettle and flicked it on to boil whilst she studied the packet. 1.5-3 ounces for newborns, 4-5 for 2 months, 6-8 by four months, very helpful, right we'll go with 6 ounces, I can always make her more.

Ella started to cry louder again, 'I know, I know, it's coming.' She used a teaspoon to measure out some powder and dropped it into a bottle, she froze for a moment, was I supposed to sterilize that? Doesn't it take a while to sterilize bottles? Oh, I haven't got time for that, I'll give it a good wash and it'll have to suffice.

She emptied out the powder into the bin and hurriedly ran hot water and washed the bottles. She thoroughly dried one, put more powder inside, added the hot water, and stirred it all up before putting the top on. She had a sudden memory of a relative checking the temperature of the milk on their forearm and thought what the hell, she pulled up her sleeve and dropped a little milk onto her skin, it felt fairly warm.

She sat down on the couch and lifted Ella up beside her, 'I know you're hungry but it won't be long now,' she dropped a little more milk onto her arm, still too warm, 'come on, cool down already,' she said a little louder than anticipated. She picked up Ella in her arms and tried to comfort her. Voices barely audible over the constant crying told her that the others were arriving with the packages, intriguingly they didn't enter but left again. She gave it another minute and tested the milk again, that felt only the tiniest bit warm, that had to be okay now.

She laid Ella on her back and propped her head up on her elbow; Ella's opened her mouth widely and turned her head towards Sam's breast. 'You're not gonna find anything there,' Sam told her smiling and offering her the bottle. Ella ignored it at first and turned her head from it as Sam touched it to her lips. 'Oh come on, its all I got Ella,' the little face screwed up again and Sam tried to offer her the bottle again. Ella refused it again and started getting upset; Sam took the bottle away and did her best to comfort the baby.

Sam squeezed a little of the milk onto the back of her hand and then wiped it on the teat, she offered Ella the bottle again and she opened her mouth and stuck out a tongue to investigate. With Ella's mouth open Sam carefully set the end of the teat between her lips, Ella sucked on it. Her eyes widened and she kicked her legs happily as she began to suckle. Sam smiled and tipped up the bottle so the air was away from the teat. Ella began to drink hungrily. Sam watched her drink, she couldn't explain it but something about it was very relaxing.

After a little while Ella finished the bottle completely and moved her head away from it. Sam put the bottle down and tickled her tummy, 'is that better, eh, is that better, yeah,' Ella gargled in response. Sam lifted her up and got to her feet, she gently rubbed Ella's back to burp her and started walking round the room with her. Slowly but surely, Ella fell asleep in her arms. Sam sat back down on the couch and watched Ella sleep.

When Sam looked around her she found the room in darkness, she realized she must have fallen asleep too. She looked down and found Ella stirring slightly in her arms. Her doors opened and Vala bounced inside smiling widely, 'we've got something to show you, but first you need to pack,' Sam pressed a finger to her lips and pointed at the baby. She was confused, 'pack?' she whispered, Vala nodded, 'yes, pack, you've got new quarters,' Sam eyed her suspiciously and laid Ella in the make-shift bed, she twitched and whimpered a little before Sam covered her in the cream blanket. 'Sleep tight baby,' she whispered before standing back up, Vala was grinning at her, 'what?' she whispered indignantly, 'nothing,' Vala smiled, 'I'll help you pack.'

…

Teal'c had collected Sam's bags and taken them on ahead; twenty minutes later Vala followed leading Sam out to the transporter and up three levels. Ella woke up on the trip and peered over Sam's arms at her new surroundings. Sam absently stroked her head as they approached the doors, Vala grinned and swiped her hand over the locking mechanism. The doors opened and she led Sam inside.

Sam already knew this was one of the bigger suites in the tower, 2 bedrooms, a den, kitchen facilities in main living area and personal bathroom. Sam spotted her kettle in the bigger kitchen area and a few photographs in the den beside her laptop and files, someone, she suspected Cassie, had obviously unpacked for her. 'Come on, this way,' Vala dragged her to the kitchen area and opened two cupboards, inside the bottles, sterilizer and formula were neatly tucked away, 'all neat and tidy, now in here.'

Vala pulled her into the bathroom, bigger than her previous one, and opened one of the cupboards, 'all Ella's changing and washing things are in here, baby shampoo, baby bath, baby lotion, baby wipes, talcum powder, whatever that is, pure petroleum jelly, what's that for?' Sam smiled, 'soothes sore skin, probably for diaper rash.' Vala thought about it for a moment, 'changing mat is over there and diapers over here.'

Sam barely had time to breathe before Vala dragged her into the bigger of the two bedrooms, 'Cassie put all your things away for you, and finally,' she pulled her to the doorway of the smaller bedroom next door. 'Ella's room,' she announced and opened the door; a crib was positioned by the bed, woven from natural wicker and covered with furs, much like Torrens. 'Halling made the crib and Teyla got the furs,' Sam was shocked, 'he made this today?' Vala nodded, 'wow, Ella, aren't you lucky, shall we try it out?' Smiling she laid Ella in the crib and tucked her up in the blanket.

Convinced Ella approved she turned around and realized there were no packages. 'Where's the rest of the stuff Landry sent?' Vala smiled and gestured to the chest of drawers. Sam opened the drawer and found a pile of all in ones neatly folded, the next drawer contained sleepsuits, another bodysuits, socks and tights and another little jeans, and leggings, a skirt and a pair of dungarees, the last contained tees, cardigans, jumpers and dresses all sized 3-6 months. The soft materials and bright colours fascinated Sam, she'd never really looked at baby clothes before, it surprised her that Landry had managed to pick so many coordinating items. Vala sensed what she was going to ask, 'apparently Carolyn had a whale of a time picking them out.' Sam smiled, 'I bet she did.'

Vala opened the wardrobe, 'one coat, a fluffy dressing gown, towels with hoods, for some reason, a bath support, a playmat, whatever that is, and there's a teething ring somewhere.' Sam sat down on the bed, 'wow, we really are all kitted out aren't we Ella, Dr Lam's thought of everything.' There was a soft knock at the door, 'not everything,' McKay held up a small device in his hands, 'I fashioned it from parts we salvaged, I was able to create a compression cipher that allowed me to transfer the memory module from the…' 'Just get to the point,' John interrupted from behind him.

McKay set the device on the end of the bed and pressed the button on top. A hologram of the stars in the Pegasus galaxy filled the room, Ella was fascinated by the moving lights and reached out to touch them. Sam too was entranced, 'wow, your own special mobile Ella, you gonna say thank you,' Ella kicked in her crib and cooed back at Sam.

John nudged Ronan into the room, 'go on then' Ronan walked into the room trying not to meet anyone's eye, he held out a carved wooden ring, it had a birds head and feather and leather strips attached two feet to the opposite side. 'Teething ring, all babies on Sateda had 'em,' he muttered gruffly, Sam took the toy and admired it, 'you carve this?' He nodded and stepped back, 'its amazing, thank you,' she dangled it above Ella and shook it so the feet clicked together. Ella giggled and reached up for it. Gripping it tightly, she managed to shake it and giggled at the clicking sound.

Teyla gave her several traditional Athosian toys, including a leather ball stuffed with something light, a rattle and a stuffed animal made with different materials. Sam thanked her and the Atlantis team left for the mess hall, McKay loudly complaining he was hungry. Sam knew she wouldn't have long before the rest of SG1 descended on her, fetched her laptop and found a soothing classical track and put it on repeat, she turned on the visualizer and turned out the light.

She sat down on the couch and wondered how she had got to this, in just over 6 hours her life and changed completely. She was now responsible for another life, a little person with no one, needed her and was already looking to her for everything. The new responsibility weighed on her shoulders, the little girl sleeping only feet away was completely dependant on her, the only thing she'd taken care of before was her cat and Cassie and they were self sufficient in comparison. She was tired already and she'd only been caring for Ella for a number of hours, she was beginning to understand why new mothers got a shock at the work involved.

She thought back to another time a little girl had come into her life and captured her heart in such a short period of time. She found herself drawn back into Ella's room and quietly slipped onto the bed. She watched Ella sleep and knew she was already attached. Perhaps it was the universe's way of repaying her for everything she had done, all those years keeping her from what she wanted and torturing her with it on a daily basis and today the universe had kept its end of the bargain, today it had brought her a child.

(The aliens will return soon)


	8. Chapter 8 - Solicitude and Strife

**A/N - **Thank you again to everyone who is reading. This chapter is a bit shorter than the last few, I decided to make it shorter in order to get new chapters up more quickly. I've also added in a place and date subheading each time I swap location, this should make it easier to follow when and where the characters are - it will become clear why as you read.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. x

**Chapter 8 – Solicitude and Strife**

Ryk'l - February 1st, 2004

Jack peered out through the tangle of bushes and shrubs from his confined hiding place. It had taken them what felt like forever to find somewhere safe to park it, everywhere was covered in knee high grasses for miles so parking in that would be a dead giveaway. Eventually they had found a clearing in the opposite direction to the camp, he parked the jumper and cloaked it before the two of them slipped back to the gate and found their hiding place.

So, here he was tucked up into a ball, in a hollow no bigger than just over a metre wide beneath a bush, shoved up against Jacob, so he wouldn't get any nasty looking thorns in his ass. He was suddenly aware of Jacob twitching slightly, not enough to move any branches or leaves but he knew he was twitching. He glared at him and flicked his eyes down then up, he turned his thumbs up in a 'what?' gesture, Jacob narrowed his eyes and glared back.

When Jacob didn't stop twitching Jack turned to him and hissed in a barely audible whisper, 'can't you keep still?' Jacob glared back, 'I have to pee, okay,' Jack frowned. He pulled a face and retorted, 'you should gone before we left,' Jacob narrowed his eyes, 'there wasn't time,' Jack was getting angry now, 'there was plenty'o'time for a thirty second potty break.' Jacob's expression changed suddenly, 'this argument does not provide a solution to the problem, Jacob's body requires elimination of its waste, imminently.'

Jack realized what Selmak was suggesting, 'you ain't going in here,' the Tok'ra stared, 'then what do you suggest, Jacob is just as opposed to emptying his bladder in your presence as you are but I do not see any other option.' Jack looked straight ahead again, 'are you really that desperate? I mean can't you wait,' Selmak replied, 'yes, no.' Jack turned his head to his right so he was completely facing away from 'dad' he pursed his lips, 'ah, hell, get on with it.'

He tried to ignore the sounds of clothing being moved or undone and Jacob shifting his position, he focused his attention on the gate. After several minutes had passed and he still hadn't heard the sounds of liquid hitting mud he pursed his lips once more, 'I thought you had to go real bad,' he asked, glaring at the DHD through the bush. 'I'm not used to going with someone in such close proximity,' Jack gritted his teeth, 'Selmak, please, help him out here,' a few moments later he heard and tried to ignore the expected noise, it seemed like forever before it finished and Jacob resumed his previous position. Jack stared at him, 'what are ya, a Camel?'

…

Atlantis - November 13th 2010

Sam opened and closed her eyes for a moment, blinking into the darkness, and realized for once it wasn't Ella that had woken her. Her head was aching again and she felt a little sick, it wasn't surprising really considering she'd had no more than 2 hours of sleep at any one time for nearly 3 weeks. -She climbed out of bed and poured herself a glass of water. As she sipped the cool crystal clear liquid her radio crackled on her bedside table, 'Colonel Carter, this is Dr Keller.' She hurried to retrieve it and put it on, the movement made her a little dizzy.

Sam tapped her radio, 'Go ahead Jennifer,' the younger woman sounded stressed, 'We've got problems Sam, I'm going to have to quarantine the infirmary, I've got 12 patients all with the same symptoms, including Cam Mitchell, Daniel, Vala, Jennifer Hailey and Teal'c.' A deafening bleep started to pulse rhythmically joined by the thuds of closing doors and locking mechanisms sealing.

Ella started screaming from her room, Sam hurried to her small charge as John's voice came through her radio, 'Sam, city's locked down, McKay says it's level 4, outbreak of something,' Sam neared the crib, 'okay, where are you?' 'Control room with McKay and Teyla,' Sam tapped her radio again, 'Rodney can you put me on city wide?' 'Done,' Sam looked down in the crib and was found Ella red and screaming, Sam lifted her up and took a deep breath, 'Everybody remain calm, the city is under level 4 quarantine, stay where you are and wait for further information. Thank you.'

She touched Ella's head and found she was very warm, 'Jennifer, what are we dealing with?' Ella continued to scream, it wasn't Jennifer that replied, it was Cassie, 'Dr Keller's rushed off her feet, its manic down here. So far fever, headache, dizziness, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea and muscle pain, it seems to be fairly similar to viral gastroenteritis but it's bacterial. Bad news is the incubation period is only a couple of hours.' Sam sighed, 'okay, that explains the level 4,' 'Er Sam, we don't need people puking in the halls and labs cos they're locked in.' 'Precisely why level 4 was configured this way Cass. No one is cut off from sanitary facilities.'

Ella stopped screaming suddenly and jerked forwards, she vomited over Sam three times and promptly started screaming again. Sam panicked; she hadn't a clue what to do with a sick baby, 'Cassie, Jennifer, Ella's throwing up, what the hell do I with her?' she asked frantically. Sam suddenly felt really sick and felt her stomach churning, she ran with Ella to the bathroom. She had barely reached the toilet before she too started heaving.

…

Ryk'l - February 1st, 2004

Jack's knees were screaming again, he had been stuck under the bush for several hours now and they were still waiting for Janet and her team to arrive. Jacob was as still as a statue behind him, almost as if Jacob knew what he was thinking he spoke quietly, 'times like these I'm glad of Selmak, arthritis would have got me stuck here.' I'd rather have the arthritis Jack thought to himself. Never was he going to allow a snake in his head again.

The whirring and rumbling of the gate brought him to attention, the chevrons lit up one by one and clicked into place before the blue of the event horizon filled the circle and splashed forwards. The blue wave was sucked back into the wormhole leaving the familiar rippling blue. A M.A.L.P slowly trundled through stocked with supplies followed by several marines he knew by name – all female – and Janet's medical team led by napoleon herself, again, all female, he seemed to remember it put the kids at ease. Oh god, he thought, please don't let it be that day, SG1 stepped through the gate after the rest of the group, fabulous, Carter, Daniel and Teal'c to contend with too.

The pair watched in silence as the group made they way down the beaten path towards the settlement. When they had gone far enough to be out of earshot Jacob turned to Jack, 'well this just got more complicated,' two slipped from their hiding place and followed at a distance, both wondering the same thing, when were they going to get Janet? They couldn't risk kidnapping her in view of the others, first it would draw unwanted attention and secondly, Jack was sure she could pack a punch if she wanted to. They needed to get her on her own, away from the main group and into the jumper as quickly as possible. Jack thought it would be easier to knock out Teal'c than keep Janet quiet long enough to get her to the jumper without SG1 knowing about it.

As Jack watched the troop of medics and soldiers continue towards the camp a realization hit him like a bolt of lightening, any minute now Teal'c would get so distracted with Ishtar he wouldn't have time to watch over Janet and her team. Sam was likely to be the worst one of the three to avoid. He'd been on Earth at the time so he didn't have the advantage of knowing what was going to happen – then again that was probably a good thing, he had the distinct impression if he happened to meet his past self he might not get away from it, his past self would have probably shot his future self.

If he knew Sam, and boy did he know her inside and out, she would be itching to see the results of the tritonin and study the data Janet's team would inevitably be collecting. He hoped Daniel would be kept busy by some of the kids or even one of the women, maybe one of them might even flirt a little with him, not that Daniel would notice, apparently he's oblivious to it even when it's so overt the rest of the room wants to vomit. When would Danny boy just put them all out of their misery and get a room with Vala?

...

Atlantis - November 13th 2010

Daniel lay on his bed feeling awful, the vomiting had subsided but he was still lethargic and sore all over, he felt like he had pulled all the muscles in his torso from dry heaving for so long and was moving as little as possible. He knew Cam was in the next bay and by the sounds of it he felt just as rough as he did.

Teal'c was in the bay after that, he was resting having kicked the bug in just over two hours, must be the tretonin, Daniel thought. Vala was somewhere in the room making herself heard, he was just glad the curtains had been drawn, it gave him an iota of privacy. He yawned and rolled over hoping to get some sleep, the room was fairly quiet now, most patients in his ward having passed the er, explosive stage.

'Daniel!' he groaned inwardly, 'Daniel, are you awake, I'm bored,' Daniel lay very still and hardly dared breathe as he pretended to be asleep. He hoped if he pretended long enough then she would get bored and go to sleep. 'Daniel!' she hissed, 'I know you're awake!' he sighed, 'why don't you answer me? You're not snoring, so you can't possibly be sleeping,' he pulled his covers over his ears and squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

'Daniel!' she whined again, the bed in the bay next to him creaked, 'for gods sake Daniel just answer her, I can't sleep with her yacking.' Daniel rolled over, 'Vala, this is the infirmary, you might not be familiar enough with the concept yet but this is where sick people go to get better, they do not come here to listen to you, now do us all a favour and be quiet.'

A curtain was pulled open, 'you are so grouchy sometimes Daniel,' he heard her feet pad across the room and was nearly blinded when she pulled his curtain open, 'Vala please, I'm tired.' She grinned at him and perched herself by his knees, 'you can never be too tired for me,' Daniel was fast losing the will to live when his saviour appeared in the form of Jennifer Keller.

'Ms Mal Doran, if I find you are disturbing my patients I will have no choice but to put you in solitary confinement,' Vala looked up, the blonde haired doctor was scrutinizing her, she pointed at Vala's empty bed silently. Vala hung her head and slipped off Daniel's bed, she walked slowly away, taking as much time as possible. She stood up straight, skipped back to Daniel and kissed his forehead, 'get well soon Daniel,' she stood up again and grinned, 'I need entertaining,' she skipped away and got back into her own bed.

Jennifer nodded to Daniel and closed his curtains once again, he reached up and touched his forehead, the skin still tingled where she had kissed him. As much as he hated to admit it, she was growing on him, she'd put her life on the line many times now and he regarded her as a friend. He was attracted to her, there was no question about that, but, as cliché as it sounded, he still didn't know if he could trust her with his heart.

First Sha're had been taken from him, and he still hadn't gotten over that, he doubted he ever would be she would want him to be happy. He had finally allowed himself that chance and had begun to fall for Ke'ra and found out she was really the psychopathic killer Linea, his track record wasn't looking good. He didn't think he could add troubled, hyperactive, attention seeking Vala to that list.

Perhaps he'd been too hard on her the other week, she wasn't all bad. She was good hearted, loyal, confident, her hyperactivity and full on personality stemmed from a deep seated need to be loved and wanted, she had definitely calmed down once SG1 and the SGC had accepted her as part of the team. She was much more open and trusting these days, especially him, she seemed to trust him without question, well, far less questioning than she gave anyone else. Would it really be so bad to give it a chance?

…

Sam had, for all intensive purposes, given up worrying what was going on outside, of course she thought about it, and her responsibilities, but she had temporarily transferred command to John hours ago. What with Ella vomiting, and then her vomiting and Ella requiring diaper changes every twenty minutes - she wasn't even going to think about her own trips to the toilet – she barely had time to try and force water down her throat let alone work out how to get medical supplies anywhere.

After her last bout of vomiting - and the rest - she had crawled into the bed in Ella's room. She didn't think it was possible to vomit any more than she had but she had managed it, she had reached that awful stage where her stomach was empty and thus she was reduced to dry retching and bringing up small amounts of bile that burned her throat.

Unable to sleep with the constant worrying about Ella she had turned on her side and watched her sleep fitfully. She had removed the furs from the crib and padded it with a couple of towels before covering them with a sheet – she didn't fancy trying to get baby sick out of fur. She had propped Ella up on her side and put some music on again to try to soothe her. Like her, Ella was exhausted and, like her, she wasn't getting much sleep.

If her own symptoms were anything to go by Ella probably felt dog rough, her head was banging, if she lifted her head she felt the room spinning and she constantly felt sick enough to vomit, her stomach was cramping badly causing her to double up in pain half the time and her fever had yet to break. She tossed and turned between the sheets, sweating and shivering alternately, curling her knees to her chest in an effort to quell the pain. Her sides ached with every movement and her whole body screamed from the general fatigue, she felt like a marionette with its strings cut, limp and lifeless.

She had a few moments quiet and felt her eyes drooping, her body relaxing, ready to welcome sleep before Ella's screams roused her from her daze. She scooted to the edge of the bed and put her hand in the crib to try to soothe her, gently rubbing her tummy and talking to her. She realized she was thirsty and decided it was time to try Ella with a bottle again. She sipped her water as she made her way to the main door to her quarters.

At some point someone in hazmat had brought up several packets of infant paracetamol, normal paracetamol and jello and left them by the door. She was pleased to find the jello was blue. Apparently you shouldn't give a sick baby formula or water, something Jennifer was quite insistent on. Jello water is gentle on their stomachs and gets fluid back into them. The cool floor was pleasant on her bare feet as she boiled the kettle and made up the smallest of the bottles will this blue jello water. She let the rest set in a glass bowl thinking she might see if her stomach would tolerate it later.

She was half asleep as she propped her pillows up, lifted Ella into her arms and settled into her warm bed. She leaned against the pillows and laid Ella on her lap in her the nursing position; she pulled the sheet around them and offered her the bottle of very diluted but still bright blue liquid, surely all that colouring couldn't be good for such a small baby?

Ella took it slowly and sucked for a few minutes. She moved her head away and pulled her fists to her chin, snuggling into Sam and closing her eyes. Sam sat forwards and grabbed a towel, she put it over her shoulder and held Ella over the same shoulder. She rubbed her back to burp her, it only took a few moments before she was able to toss the towel at the crib and lay back against the pillows once more.

She laid Ella on her tummy on her own chest and pulled the sheets over them. She wrapped her arms around Ella as she snuggled into her once more and watched her fall asleep. Sam found she could finally relax and was unaware of her eyes closing as she too fell asleep and got some well-earned rest.

...

Ryk'l February 1st, 2004

5 hours, 5 hours! Jack was sore and tired and his legs had seized up and were stiff beneath him. He tried to stretch them in the confines of his new hiding place; luckily this time there was more space. From their vantage point they could see the main camp and the route to the training ground but were still close to the main route back to the gate. Together he and Jacob had devised a plan and were waiting for the opportune moment to put it into action. It was getting dark, Teal'c and Ishtar had taken a walk and he hadn't seen Sam or Daniel for a while, he hoped this meant they were wrapped up in some geeky discussion.

Just as they had hoped, Janet appeared from inside one of the tents, 'I'll be fine Katie, just gonna stretch my legs and eat my sandwich,' she pulled a rucksack onto her back and wandered up the path towards them. She rounded some bushes blocking her from the view of the camp and headed towards a fallen tree sitting right in front of them. She sat down and took off her rucksack.

As planned Jacob put his hand over her mouth and pulled her back into the bushes, she thrashed about, kicked out, and tried to scream. Jack grabbed her bag and turned to her, making sure she could see his face. She froze, her eyes still wide with fear and confusion, 'you gotta promise to be quiet Janet,' Jacob released his hand from her mouth, 'Sir?' she asked Jack, 'what are you, why? You're supposed to be at a meeting with General Hammond,' Jack pulled her through the bushes, 'I'll explain soon, but right now we gotta get outta here.' Janet stopped and turned towards the camp, she pulled her radio from her jacket, 'let me radio Sam and…' Jack grabbed her arm and took the bag. 'No Janet you can't, you can't talk to anyone.' 'Why not Sir?' Jacob stepped in, 'please Janet, come with us and I promise I'll explain.' Janet studied the two older men for a few moments, 'Sir, if you don't mind me saying isn't this double standards, I seem to remember you refusing to go anywhere with the Tok'ra until you got the whole story,' Jack frowned, 'no I need to order you to come with me?' Janet swallowed nervously and stood to attention, 'no sir,' Jack smiled, 'Dad, lead the way.'

…

Atlantis - November 13th 2010

It had been 12 hours since the first outbreak of the gastro bug and by now everyone on base had started showing symptoms. Atlantis's automated systems had detected the now citywide contamination and had ceased the internal lockdown, though the city itself was still cut off from the mainland with all external windows, doors, hatches and bays sealed and the gate control system was still preventing outbound travel. John used the last of his energy sending a data transmission to the SGC informing them of the latest bad news, then transferred command of the gate room to the least sick soldier he could find, Lorne. He then crawled to his quarters and flopped in a heap on his couch.

All over the city people were wandering back to their quarters to rest or traveling at a snails pace making detours to the nearest restrooms. Up in the tower Ronan had retreated to his bathroom, Zelenka was sweating and shivering in his bed, Teyla was caring for Torren and McKay had presented himself in the infirmary convinced he was far more ill than anyone else and needed extra care. Upon hearing this Cam had rolled his eyes and pulled his pillow over his head, just who he needed for a roommate. Vala had fallen asleep and Daniel was still contemplating his love life. Cassie had formed a fulfilling relationship with the toilet in one of the infirmary's private rooms, Jennifer was one floor down huddled up trying to bring down her fever and Sam and Ella were still sleeping - but these were the lucky ones.

The control room and ZPM room still had to be manned, data still needed to be monitored and someone needed to be available to respond to any incoming transmissions. A couple of techs, a few military personnel and several members of McKay's team who had stopped vomiting (and the other) had dressed warmly and sat in the control room monitoring the city and the lockdown. Amelia Banks was among the group, she was curled up on her chair, her skin still pale and her head still throbbing, she could quite happily drag herself back to bed but it was her duty to remain, someone had to do it. She looked over at Major Lorne, he was white as a sheet but stood propped up against the doorway, p90 in hand, ready to use in an emergency. Teal'c was meditating in Sam's office, from his position he could keep an eye on the personnel below and was close on hand in an emergency.

A loud metallic click filled the room, the click was accompanied by a rumbling and thrumming, all heads turned towards the gate or the nearest computer screen. The Pegasus gate came to life, the chevrons locking into place and turning a bright turquoise blue. The event horizon kawooshed and collapsed back across the stone ring, the iris formed over the gate immediately. Amelia looked at her screen, the incoming signal indicated the caller was the SGC, they knew they were under quarantine, why were they calling in? She looked to Evan as the senior officer on duty.

Evan tapped his radio and nodded to her, 'establishing coms,' she told him, he nodded, 'Stargate Command, this is Major Lorne, we have a bacterial infection in the city and are under quarantine. I repeat we are under quarantine.' There was static for the briefest of moments before Landry 'We are aware Major, we have a med team mobilized and ready to assist you, the team are due in Atlantis next week so we're just sending them on early.' Evan and Amelia looked at each other, she shrugged her shoulders, 'Opening the iris sir,' Amelia inputted her code and the iris disappeared. 'SGC It is safe to proceed,' Evan told them.

The shimmering blue event horizon rippled and warped as ten men and women in red hazmat suits carried medical supplies and bags through. The leader of the med team approached Evan, he smiled as he recognized the face, 'Dr Beckett, its good to see you,' 'I'm just in bloody time by the looks of it.' Just as Evan thought that was it for the arrivals a final figure strutted through casually, his rucksack tossed over one shoulder, they turned to look as the wormhole collapsed behind them. The figure looked back around the room, he grinned behind his visor, 'good morning campers.'


	9. Chapter 9 - Close Enough to Touch

**A/N - **Sorry it's taken so long to get this next chapter up. It was harder to write than I had initially thought and I got distracted by an SG1 digital painting I was working on. This chapter has not been beta'd, as my beta has not been well, so any mistakes are my own. Thank you for continuing to read and review. I hope you like this chapter, some fluff and angst.

P.S. - Apologies for the full stops, I can't seem to enter a single line break, I'm using shift+enter but its just not having it tonight

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**Chapter 9 – Close Enough to Touch ... Yet Still so Far Away  
**

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Atlantis - November 13th 2011

Sam blinked hard, 'What?' she replied instinctively, she was absolutely certain Major Lorne had just told her Jack had walked through the gate. 'Sorry Major, could you repeat that?' she asked, her heart suddenly racing, 'Yes ma'am, General O'Neill has just arrived, he's on his way up to see you.' Sam was confused, shocked, furious and excited, she slammed that feeling down sharply, 'does he know we've all got the stomach flu from hell?' Her head throbbed as a reminder, 'he is aware, ma'am,' she closed her eyes in irritation, 'thanks for letting me know Major.'

Sam looked down at Ella, still curled against her and sat up slightly, Ella started to whimper and the effort of that movement exhausted her. She flopped back against her pillows and closed her eyes for a moment. The place was a state, she pictured the dirty baby clothes covered in sick and god knows what else piled up on the bathroom floor, the bottles and empty glasses and spoons stacked up in the kitchenette, and her uniform tossed haphazardly on her bed. She hadn't had the energy to clean or tidy and had, uncharacteristically; just dumped everything, and to cap it all off she probably looked and smelled awful.

The last person she wanted to see her was her ex. To see his eyes, his smile, to hear the gruff sarcasm in his voice and smell his aftershave and that scent that was just him. God she could almost feel his skin under her finger tips and taste him as she kissed him, the feel of his hands sliding through her hair and touching her, hmmm, everywhere. She could deny it to the rest of the world but there was no denying it to herself; she was still in love with him and even though he'd broken her heart, right now she thought she probably always would be.

Sam drew her knees up to her chest as best she could without disturbing Ella. She was exhausted and tried to let her body relax and ignore the pressure in her bladder. It was no good, she was going to have to get up and go. She groaned as her movement disturbed Ella and she started crying, she carried her to the crib, rocking and soothing her gently and laid her inside. 'I'll be right back baby, I promise,' she hurried to the bathroom and was pained by Ella's cries turning to screams. She called through the open door to her in an attempt to soothe her, but to no avail.

She relieved herself and hurried back as fast as she could. Ella was red faced and really screaming now, heart-wrenching sobs that took all the energy in her little body. Sam took her in her arms and tried to comfort her, the sobs continued, nothing she did seemed to make a difference.

…

Jack stepped out of the transporter and stared at the door in front of him, all he had to do was knock but all he seemed able to do was stare at the polished metal. Crying and screaming reached his ears, he assumed it was the mystery baby she had been given temporary guardianship over. He could hear the muffled sounds of her voice mixing into the sobs to create a cacophony of noise. He could hear the strain and tiredness as she tried to console the child but what made him lift his hand and knock on the door was the hint of desperation in her tone. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door, the plastic of his hazmat suit rustling and squeaking. A few moments later the doors slid open and he found himself stunned by what he saw.

Sam was wearing a thin vest and shorts, she was pale and looked exhausted, the baby in her arms was screaming blue murder. Her face was tear streaked and her eyes were red, she looked as if she could burst into tears at any moment and ready to collapse at the same time. She glared at him, those beautiful blue eyes piercing him like daggers, 'what can I do for your?' she asked pathetically, she obviously didn't have the energy to fight or put the 'Carter' mask on, her response was weak and missing the venom he had expected. Not even a hint of the spunk he'd come to know and love so well.

'What can I do for you, sir,' he replied glibly without thinking, she looked at him confused, 'sir?' she blinked at him through tired eyes, 'You're retired,' she added equally without passion. She rubbed the girls back and moved her position in her arms, he noticed she was shaking as she bounced the child gently and was filled with a desire to take care of her and protect her. 'Not anymore,' he replied too jovially, he knew it was too much, he wished he could take it back. She looked at him as though still trying to process everything, her eyes dropped to the infant. He shifted his weight between his feet awkwardly, 'so erm, how ya doin'?'

Her eyes snapped up and met his, the blue crackling with fire, 'how ya doin', that's what you say to me, how ya doin'?' Jack thought for a moment, it was nice to see the fight back but he could do without it being directed at him, this was such a bad idea, and how glad he was it wasn't his. He tried to find a way to dig himself out of his hole, 'bad choice of words, how's command of Atlantis goin'?' Sam glared at him, 'in a matter of weeks we crash the city, and then nearly lose it. I send Todd with SG1 to a sparsely populated primitive planet so he can feed and now the Genii are telling anyone who'll listen that we're wraith worshippers, 3 teams nearly got killed in an ambush because the locals thought they had brought Todd with them for take-out. Keller can't get the drug to let him get nutrition from food to work so it looks like he's going to slowly starve to death and someone brought in this damn virus. Oh and how could I forget, this one pops through the Stargate in an Asgard stasis pod and latches onto me like a limpet. I'm up to my eyes in dirty diapers and bottles and I got Rodney and Daniel harping on about the extensive water damage 24/7. And that's not even touching on the battle for trade partnerships to maintain adequate food supplies. How do you think it's going?' She practically spat the last word at him, 'Sir.'

Jack stared at her wide-eyed, he was stunned by her outright subordination, then again after what he'd done, nothing less than he deserved. 'Could be worse, you could'a sunk the city,' his attempt at humour fell flat, the silence hung awkwardly between them, his breathing sounding hollow and disturbingly like the guy in the black metal suit from Teal'c's Star Wars films – not that he'd paid them much attention.

Her eyes met his and they silently read each other in the way they had done for years, no words said but both knowing how the other was feeling, he knew from the way she looked at him that her feelings for him hadn't changed. He hoped to god she could see how much he loved her; that ending the relationship was killing him too. He focused on the letter; there was a reason it had been written. If whatever it was that had driven her to write the letter was important enough to change time then it was damn well important enough to risk this over.

She swallowed and dropped her gaze, her eyes sought out the name badge on the front of his hazmat. Her voice was quiet as she spoke, 'stressed, I feel awful, I'm so tired I can barely think straight, and, much as I hate to admit it, I feel totally in over my head with her,' he was confused, where had that come from, 'answer to you first question,' she explained, yawning as if to emphasize the point. He watched her intently for a second, then I walk in, he thought, and if his hurt was anything to go by, she was already in an emotional state before she even entered the city.

Jack nodded, the plastic restricting his movement, 'Hank thought as much,' she tipped her head in question, 'General Landry?' 'You just about took Walter's head off when he passed on the message that the Apollo was delayed and wouldn't be here for an extra four weeks,' he shrugged his shoulders. 'Hank took his concerns to Vidrine and the IOA and, well, here I am,' Sam's eyes widened in horror then narrowed in anger, 'To take command? What cos they think I can't cope? I can cope, I'm coping.'

Jack sighed, he smiled a little to himself, he felt like he'd had this conversation before, 'it's not funny,' he looked up, she must have caught his smile, 'no, its not, just reminded me of one time I told you to get some down time cos you were stressed.' He proceeded to do an impression of her, 'I'm not stressed, why do I look stressed, I'm stressed, when did you first notice?' He watched her as she nodded to herself, 'okay, I admit I'm under a lot of pressure but I'm coping just fine.'

Jack craned his neck around her and raised his eyebrow at the mess, she turned to follow his gaze, 'untidy house is an untidy mind,' he looked at her pointedly. She turned back to him her eyes sparkling the tiniest bit as she fought back a smile, 'it's a cluttered house, but you already knew that.' He smiled his best crooked smile, 'I'm here to take some of the load, sort the stupid trivial things,' he paused, 'like potatoes?' she asked slyly before catching herself, he nodded, his smile growing, 'yup and toilet paper, let you concentrate on the important stuff.'

'Oh,' she mulled it over, 'why you?' he hesitated, 'no one else has the experience without rearranging half of Homeworld and SGC chain of command, and well, the thinking was you wouldn't see me as a threat,' he paused, 'and um, I know you well enough to assess your behaviour,' he added hurriedly. Sam looked incredulous, 'assess my behaviour?' Jack waved it off, 'making sure you're not losing it or putting anyone in danger, you know the political bull crap. They're nuts if they think you can dump a baby on someone and expect them to carry on the same, your life starts revolving around the next feed and diaper change, and you don't get any sleep, I know that. The city's still standing, no one's died, and aside from the virus everything's ticking over just fine, I don't see a problem with your command.' Sam raised an eyebrow, 'not one that you have any control over anyway.'

She frowned, her expression turning icy, 'I don't seem to have control over very much these days,' and there it was, the elephant in the room he'd done his best to tiptoe around, trumpeting and stampeding towards him. He didn't know what to say, the little girl turned her head towards him and peered over Sam's arm with wide blue eyes. He found himself entranced, 'hello,' he said to her, 'what's your name, eh?'

Sam glared at him, he noticed the subtle movement of her arms, clutching the child closer and moving a fraction away from him, such a small amount it was almost imperceptible but he knew her as well as he knew himself. She wouldn't look at him, 'Ella,' she replied coldly, 'if that's all you needed me for Sir, I need to put her back to bed and get some sleep myself.'

He winced at the way she called him Sir, he looked up at her, he wanted to call her Sam, he needed to call her Sam, 'We need to sort a few things out Carter,' he couldn't do it. Her face contorted with anger and hurt, 'now you wanna talk? Not so long ago you couldn't wait to be rid of me, you didn't even give me a reason, you just walked out.' He looked away, the guilt burning him like poison in his veins. 'We need to be able to work together,' he replied, still not meeting her gaze, 'You can't even look at me, can you?' he knew it was spineless but she was right, he couldn't. 'Just like you wouldn't look at me then, how long had you been planning to end it?' He was frozen to the spot, she was getting angrier and louder with each moment and he was stood there in silence. 'How long? Before we had sex in the shower? The couch? The bedroom? A week, two weeks? Three?' He still didn't move, 'more than three weeks? We were only together for eight.'

He flinched, 'the whole time?' she asked quietly, her voice wavering. He dropped his head, it wasn't what she thought, he knew he'd have to make her go to Pegasus and if they were together that always meant letting her go, he never wanted to but he couldn't tell her any of it. 'The whole time? Did you even want a relationship or was it just sex?' he felt sick to his stomach, 'I never wanted to stand in your way,' he chanced a look at her, 'you didn't answer my question, was it just about the sex? What was I, another notch on the bedpost, midlife crisis, you're the one that wanted to talk, so talk to me.' He didn't answer again; he couldn't find the words.

...

He continued to ignore her, her emotions were raw and her blood was boiling, 'Talk to me you bastard, you had it good, living under my roof, sleeping in bed, sex everyday, who wouldn't wanna preserve that right?' His eyes flicked up to meet hers, 'I wasn't there for sex, I was there to be with you, to spend every minute together we could before you left on the Hammond.' He seemed to be surprised by his outburst, 'so why the hell did you end it?' 'I don't wanna talk about it,' his voice was gruff and callous, 'I do, I wanna talk about it right now!' she yelled, her emotions getting the better of her. 'What do you want me to say? It wasn't the right time, it wasn't meant to be, I can't tell you what I don't know. I wanted to be with you but something didn't feel right and I don't why.'

The dam she had been carefully holding back was threatening to burst, she struggled to keep her voice steady, 'I waited for you for so long, I gave up so much and let so much pass me by for you.' The torrent had begun, she struggled to hold back and could hear her voice rising with every word. 'I've loved you for as long as I can remember, no I tell a lie, I remember the day I knew for sure that I loved you, I'd loved you for a long time before that but it was then that I knew absolutely for sure. When you got trapped on Edora and I didn't think I was ever going to see you again. I knew right then I didn't want to live in a world without you and I did everything I could to get you back. I built a particle beam accelerator for you!' She knew she was screaming now but couldn't stop.

...

Teal'c heard the raised voices as he reached the top of the stairs, he quietly opened the door and listened for a moment to ensure there was no danger. He'd decided to check up on Colonel Carter, no one had heard very much from her and he was concerned she might need help with the baby. The shouting had stopped him in his tracks; he had never heard them like this.

O'Neill seemed to be defending his position and Colonel Carter was getting more and more hysterical. It was a very private conversation but he couldn't help but be concerned for his friends; something had obviously happened between them. He raised his eyebrow at Colonel Carter's words and allowed the door to close on him. He lifted his head and locked his arms behind his back and walked pensively back down the stairs.

...

'All these years I've loved you and kept it a secret, I've never let you down, I did everything I could to save you every time you needed me. I've moped about like some lovesick teenager for years; I didn't date for six years because I was so hung up on you. I thought I was safe with you, I thought I could trust you, you promised me when you retired we'd give us a go! I never thought you'd hurt me like this, that you'd betray me. Did I do something wrong? All these years I've been waiting; I left my fiancé because I loved you more! I trusted you,' the world started spinning, black pressing in from either side, 'I'd do anything for y…' the black collapsed in and she felt herself falling, down, down into the black.

...

Jack was shocked, she was screaming and crying and Ella was crying and she looked completely out of control, she loved him, she'd said it out loud. 'I trusted you!' she screamed, she swayed and her words started to slur, 'I'd do anything for y…' she turned pale and her legs seemed to give way underneath her. He darted forwards and caught her and the baby as she headed to the floor.

He reached to check her pulse but the glove was in the way, he didn't think as he pulled it off and placed his warm hand on her cool skin. His heart was beating nineteen to the dozen as his finger felt the rhythmic, boom boom, boom boom, he calmed himself and took the child from her arms. He found her crib in the next room and placed her inside.

He hurried back to Sam's side, she was deathly white, grey even, and her skin was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. He bent her knee that was furthest away from him and her arm before carefully rolling her over and gently tipped her head back, holding her chin up. He shakily reached out and brushed her damp fringe from her eyes, 'I'm sorry Sam, I never meant to put you through this. I care about you, you know. I knew I was in trouble when we got stuck by the Antarctic gate, when my beautiful, smart, spunky, 2IC snuggled into me. Over the months I tried to stop it but I couldn't help myself Sam, I fell for you.' He pulled off his hazmat mask an the second glove. He cupped her face with his hands, 'I've loved you for years and everything has always turned out okay in the end before. I promise you it'll all turn out okay now.' He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently.

Her eyes fluttered and she blinked up at him for a second,' Jack?' she asked breathily. 'Lay still, you passed out,' she blinked again, 'Ella,' she muttered, 'she's fine, in her crib,' she tried to sit up but he put pressure on her shoulder to stop her, 'you gotta lay still.' 'Think I'm gonna be…' he let go as she lurched forwards and upwards and vomited yellow liquid all over his shiny new hazmat. She balanced shakily on her arms, he held onto her to support her, 'your suit,' she muttered. He shrugged his shoulders, 'its just a bug.'

They stayed still for a few minutes, when she had regained her whereabouts she looked to his arm around her shoulder and stared at it, he stared too and removed it quickly. 'How you feeling?' she nodded slightly, 'okay,' 'wanna try and get up?' he asked, already knowing the answer. 'Yeah,' she begrudgingly took his hand to help her to get to her feet, she swayed again and he grabbed her under the arms taking her weight. 'Woah, woah, okay, lets get you to bed,' she raised an eyebrow in a manner Teal'c would be proud of. 'Not like that, you need to rest, that one's your room right?' He started to guide her to the door, she protested, 'no, I need to be in with Ella,' he sighed, 'okay, but you're not well enough to be left alone with her.'

'I just need to sleep,' he stared at her as they entered the smaller bedroom, 'what if you pass out again?' he hissed, he pulled back the sheet and sat her on the edge of the bed. She laid back and sighed, 'I know,' Jack stood back and pulled the sheet over her. 'And everyone else is sick or busy so it looks like you're stuck with me.'

...

Sam woke up warm and comfortable, she barely remembered how she had got there but was pretty sure Jack had tucked her in. No that had to be her imagination; he wouldn't have tucked her in. She remembered talking to him in her doorway but couldn't remember what was said. Ella had been crying, she sat up and saw the crib was empty. She noticed the glass of water on the drawers and quickly padded barefoot across the floor to the door.

The bottles, glasses, and spoons were washed and put away, the room was tidy and a laundry bag sat neatly by the door beside what were obviously Jack's hazmat suit, gloves and helmet. She poked her head into the bathroom and found it too was spotless. She hesitated before opening the door to her bedroom, her uniform was hung up in front of her, she turned to the bed and her heart skipped a beat at what she saw.

Jack was lying on his side of the bed, his side; she mentally shook herself before allowing her eyes to enjoy the scene before her. He was fast asleep and had Ella lying on his chest, their faces the picture of contentment. She hadn't taken to anyone that quickly.

She crept to the bed and stroked Ella's baby soft head gently; she glanced at Jack's sleeping face and placed a delicate kiss on Ella's head. It hit her as though her mind had only just processed it, General O'Neill, General, he'd been pulled out of retirement, any chance of reconciliation was as likely as holding grains of sand in her hand. She reached out and stroked the back of his hand. She had a desperate urge to climb on the bed and snuggle up beside him; she wrapped her arms around herself and fought back a sob, her heart ached at the thought of never falling asleep by his side again.

She silently left the room and in her daze found her way back into Ella's. She sipped the water and put the glass back with trembling hands. She climbed into the bed and pulled the covers tightly around her. The tears wet around her eyes, she turned over to face the wall and cried herself to sleep. The family she had pictured for so long was close enough for her to reach out and touch but still thousands of light-years away.


	10. Chapter 10 - Deja vu

**A/N : **Thanks guys, really wasn't expecting such emotional responses to that chapter. I promise things will get less angsty soon. Again apologies for taking so long with this update, I discovered Gateworld and have been very distracted talking to fellow shippers and getting to know them.

dpdp - if you're interested in the paintings I posted them on tumblr, same name as on here :

**Chapter 10 -** **Deja vu**

Earth November 10th 2010

Jack was relaxing on his dock with a beer in one hand and his fishing rod in the other. The warm sun beat down on his head and arms enveloping him in its glow, the fresh crisp air hit his nose and cleared his head, this is what he had been waiting for. Time to let his aching legs rest, he pulled his cap down his nose and closed his eyes behind his sunglasses. He settled down for a snooze.

The gravel crunched in his drive as a car pulled up. He didn't bother to move; he knew that engine, standard black sedan with USAF 'plates if he wasn't mistaken. 'General Jack O'Neill?' a familiar voice called clearly and with authority, the speaker was someone he had worked with on several occasions. 'Nope,' he replied, twiddling his thumbs and staring across the pond. The use of his former rank did not bode well.

'Mr Jack O'Neill?' the man tried again, Jack sighed, 'yes Major Davis, how can I help you on this fine day?' the man in question appeared at his side, 'Sir, I'm here to escort you to Washington at the request of General Vidrine and the IOA.' Jack placed his hands behind his head, 'I am no longer at the beck and call of the United States Air Force, see, you might'a missed the memo, I retired.' Paul smiled, 'The President said you might say that, he told me to tell you that as of five minutes ago, your ass is his.'

Atlantis – November 20th 2010

Sam peered out of her office windows expecting Jack to appear with Ella at any moment; he was looking after her for a couple of hours whilst she held some much needed staff meetings. As much as she hated to admit it, having him to take some of the load had been helpful, she was free to deal with the important tasks, like Rodney messing with a new device and making sure the latest expedition members were settled into their teams. On that note, she was having issues getting a fourth member of SGA6 finalised. Major Anne Teldy was being incredibly stubborn, even for her.

Since the death of Captain Alicia Vega she had been reluctant to take on a permanent team member, choosing someone suitable for that particular mission. How she had gotten away with it for so long was anyone's guess but today, it stopped, today Sam was going to force her to make a decision.

The woman herself crossed the walkway to Sam's office, her stern face and dark hair pulled into a bun at the nape of neck reminded Sam exactly why female officers are regarded as highly strung and cold. She hoped she hadn't come across as that uptight when she was a Captain or a Major trying to progress through the ranks.

Anne tapped on the metal door frame and Sam motioned for her to come in. She closed the door behind her and stood to attention before Sam's desk, 'Colonel Carter.' She still wasn't used to any member of the military standing to attention before her; save for the new Lieutenants who constantly looked like someone had shoved a hot poker up their ass every time a senior officer entered the room.

She pasted on as friendly an expression as she could manage, this woman still had her on edge for some reason, 'At ease Major, please take a seat,' Anne remained standing, 'I would prefer to stand Ma'am,' oh for crying out loud, Sam thought. She realized the wording of her thoughts and mentally bashed herself over the head for thinking in his expressions. Okay, time for strict Colonel Carter to come out to play, 'Major, take a seat,' she reluctantly looked down at the chair and perched on the edge of the seat, her back still poker straight. Not quite what I had in mind, but it'll do, Sam thought.

Sam looked at the younger woman, only a few years between them but it was enough, giving orders to a female officer older than her was never fun. 'I assume you know why I called you here,' she asked, Anne nodded, 'My team, you feel I require a fourth member.' Sam picked up a file and slid it across the desk. 'New Homeland Security and IOA guidelines state that all reconnaissance and exploration teams comprise of a minimum of four people.'

Anne obviously wasn't impressed but opened the folder regardless; she noted the pile of folders on another desk in the room. Sam gestured to the pile, 'I have put together a list of appropriate expedition members I want you to consider. I will give you a week to decide. Thank you.' Anne stood up straight; she picked up the folders and left the room without uttering a single word.

She passed Amelia, Chuck and Kusanagi studying a data stream and headed for the commissary, she needed a strong black coffee before she went through these files. Lt Colonel Sheppard exited the stairwell and nodded at her. The computer screens in the control room turned white and old-fashioned 'snow' covered the screens as static interfered with their normal stream of data. Suddenly the white fuzz cleared and revealed a beautiful woman with gleaming red hair and shining purple skin, she was glaring at them through large amber eyes, the whites of her eyes not white at all but deep inky black. She smiled an evil, knowing, smirk, her teeth were sharp and stark white in contrast to her dark gums and red lips.

She looked directly at Amelia as she spoke, her voice was cold as ice and as entrancing as a Celtic singer, 'where is your leader?' Amelia froze, she glanced to Chuck, he swallowed nervously. They were both exceptionally glad when Sheppard appeared beside them, 'unavailable, but I'd be happy to listen to why you've hijacked our systems.' The woman merely smiled, she dipped her head and tilted it to the side, 'your leader?' John's hand rose to his radio, his eyes glassy as though he were in a trace. Chuck's nervousness melted into a sappy grin as he too stared at the woman.

'Colonel Carter, could you come to the gate room please, there's a lovely lady asking to talk to you,' Anne stared at him, she looked round at the other male technicians and found them in a similar state. Approaching footsteps belonged to Teyla, Ronan and Teal'c, the woman looked at Teyla, 'I sense great strength in you, but you are not their leader,' Teyla snarled at her, 'who are you and what do you want?' The woman sneered, 'my name is of no concern to you,' Teyla stood her ground, 'I demand to know your purpose here,' Ronan gave her an odd look, 'lay off the lady,' he told her gruffly. 'Is it not obvious she is a threat and must be treated as such?' Teyla asked her teammate, he merely smiled stupidly at the screen, 'John?' she asked worriedly, Amelia shook her head, 'he was the first to go stupid on us.'

'What's going on?' Sam called out from her office, she crossed the walkway as Jack, carrying Ella, and Daniel and Cam exited the transporter. Teyla turned to her superior, 'I do not know exactly, this woman appeared via the subspace communications and all the men have become,' Anne jumped in, 'smitten, enchanted, stupid, take your pick Colonel,' Sam rolled her eyes, 'why am I getting a feeling of déjà vu?' Daniel, Cam and Jack approached the screens; Sam took Ella from Jack as Daniel did his thing. 'My name is Daniel Jackson,' the woman smiled at him and leaned forwards, resting her chin on her hand, 'I know who you are Dr,' her eyes flicked up and landed on Sam.

The amber eyes drank in Sam's figure, her hair, eyes, mouth and then fell to the child in her arms, she stared for a moment, Sam stood in front of the screen, 'who are you and what do you want?' The woman snarled, 'as pleasant as that male,' she jerked her head towards Sheppard, 'my questions still stand,' Sam told her forcefully. The woman stood back, straight and tall, 'you may call me Mandari.' She paused as if for dramatic effect, 'I want the cub you harbour.'

Sam blinked, 'cub?' Mandari nodded, Sam froze for a moment, her eyes drifted down to Ella and widened in fear. Mandari smirked as Sam clasped Ella tighter to her, around her the men seemed to come out of their spell. 'What do you want with her?' Mandari smirked, 'to ensure the downfall of the Tau'ri and exact revenge upon those who killed my mother.' Jack had stepped towards Sam instinctively, as had Teal'c and Cam, together with Sheppard and Ronan they had moved to form a barrier between Ella and the screen.

Daniel stared at Mandari, 'exact revenge?' the woman smiled, 'yes Daniel, revenge, I will wipe the Tau'ri from the face of the Earth and populate the planet with my people, we will be the dominant power in the galaxy and no one will stand in our way.' Jack narrowed his eyes, 'oh yeah, we'll just see about that.' Sam clutched Ella tightly, 'we won't let you take her,' Mandari smiled, 'when the time is upon us you will be unable to resist, she will be mine and you will all be destroyed.' Sheppard squinted, 'when the time is upon us?' Mandari twitched her head to him, the movement almost feline, 'she is not yet mature, but when she is I will be back.' Jack tipped his head and folded his arms, 'any chance of a time frame so we can prepare a cake,' Mandari took offence, 'you dare mock me,' Jack nodded, 'yup I do,' Mandari hissed and tossed her head back.

Sam put her hand to her head and stumbled, she swayed slightly and collapsed. Ronan was closest to her and grabbed her without thinking, Teyla took the baby and Ronan allowed Cam to help him support Sam. Jack turned to Mandari, his eyes flashing, 'what did you do to her?' Mandari was still furious, 'I did nothing, why would I seek to harm the cub?' Jack shrugged, 'I dunno, fun, you psycho's get a kick outta that, hurting innocent people.' 'I assure you, I did nothing to harm the cub, but your continued impudence will forfeit the life of your leader. I will return in 6 weeks to check on the cub, do not try to stop me, I have power beyond your ken.'

The screen flickered back to the normal data stream. Jack turned to Sam, she was ghostly white again and semi-conscious. He approached her and checked her pulse, 'Carter, Carter, can you hear me,' her eyes flickered open and she looked at him with confusion. He watched her eyes widen, flick to either side of her and then land on him, she'd realized someone had caught her, 'Sir?' she asked him quietly, still disorientated. 'You passed out, Ronan here was good enough to stop you cracking your skull open on the floor.' She looked a little sheepish before her eyes widened, 'Ella!" Jack rolled his eyes, 'she's fine, Teyla's got…' his sentence was interrupted by the jerking forwards of her head and her projectile vomiting all over his trousers.

He looked down at the bright blue gunk covering his legs, 'Been gorging ourself on jello have we?' he quipped. She coughed, and spluttered, 'sorry sir,' he grabbed a bin as she retched again. 'Let's not make this a habit Carter, first my shiny new hazmat suit then my brand new Atlantis pants.' Sam gazed up at him worriedly, her eyes found Ella and then returned to Jack, she didn't need to say anything, he already knew exactly what she was thinking.


	11. Chapter 11 - All I want to do

**A/N - **Thanks to everyone for continuing to read and review, it means a lot. I think I got this chapter up sooner than last time and hope to get the next chapter up in a few days.

sammie77a - Sam's life isn't forfeit as yet, Mandari was threatening to kill Sam if they didn't cooperate

RoseA26 - Yes, I am about to bring a few more facts to the fore, blame it on the uni training, been taught to keep the secrets back through the first half of something and release the bits slowly until one big bit of evidence lets it all make sense.

errin80 and Guest - yes I am going to start giving some light but a few other strange things are happening first. Unfortunately I'm not going to shed any more light on Ella for a while - only one person knows her identity other than me, my beta.

pre warning for errin80, murrinholi and Tel nok Shock - the emotional roller coaster is taking another lap of the circuit...

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**Chapter 11 – All I want to do…**

Earth November 10th 2010

Jack stood in the elevator playing with his collar, he'd just gotten used to breathing normally again and now here he was in the clothes he abhors. He'd already had to endure the car ride, the plane journey, another car ride and now he was faced with a meeting about god knows what with god knows who. The smell reaching his ears was familiar and reminded him of the good times, he pictured Daniel roaming the halls with his head in a translation and Sam fiddling with a doohickey whilst he sparred with Teal'c. He wondered what was so important that he was being dragged out of retirement.

The elevator doors opened and Chief Master Sergeant Walter Harriman looked up sheepishly, 'Good morning Sir, If you'd like to follow me Generals Vidrine and Landry and Mr Woolsey from the IOA are waiting for you in briefing room.' Jack shook his head as Walter led him through the maze that was Cheyene Mountain, 'I don't need an escort Sergeant,' Walter smiled, 'General Landry sent me to make sure you didn't get lost,' Jack raised an eyebrow, 'code for, not somehow find myself back in NORAD and walking off the base.'

When Jack arrived in the briefing room the aforementioned were seated around the table with a man he didn't recognize. Woolsey had a stack of papers, a legal pad and a pen poised at the ready. Vidrine looked uncomfortable and Hank seemed, for some reason, nervous.

Vidrine looked up and stood up to shake his hand, 'Jack, I trust the journey was pleasant,' Jack shook his hand then Hank's, 'Can we just cut to the chase, you know how much I hate the chit chat.' Hank clasped his hands together, 'It's a delicate situation…' Woolsey sat up straight, 'we feel Colonel Carter's objectivity may have been compromised by her current situation.'

Jack stared at them for a second and blinked twice to make sure he wasn't imagining it, 'did you just say you think Carter's objectivity has been compromised? Am I in the right universe, did I touch a fancy mirror or something?' Hank looked at him 'They're being serious Jack, there are concerns about her current circumstances and the IOA are being more than a little presumptuous.'

Woolsey glared, 'would you have compromised the safety of this planet rather than inconveniencing the Colonel?' It was obvious they had had this debate before, Vidrine turned to the IOA representative, 'that is not our position, we suggested the Quarantine period,' Woolsey looked pleased, 'something the IOA backed wholeheartedly,' Hank jumped in, 'but naming her as sole carer was irresponsible of the IOA.' Jack just stared, 'okay, someone wanna fill me in?'

Hank was seething and Woolsey started making notes. It was General Vidrine that turned to him, '20 days ago an Asgard stasis pod travelled through the Atlantis gate and closed Iris. The pod contained a female human infant, approximately 9 or 10 weeks old. The child formed an attachment to Colonel Carter during the period of consultation period between myself, the joint Chiefs, General Landry and the IOA. The unanimous agreement was that the child should remain in Atlantis during a quarantine period. During this time, any contagions she may be carrying would become apparent and there would be opportunity for the parents to claim her.'

Vidrine shot a glance at Woolsey before continuing, 'The IOA decided that Colonel Carter's bond with the child would make her an appropriate interim guardian.'

Jack jumped in, 'let me guess, you guys disagreed?' Hank nodded, 'she had enough to be doing without worrying about taking care of a baby,' Vidrine seemed to be thinking about what he was going to say, Woolsey jumped in before he could continue 'her outburst at CMSg Harriman proved our concerns to be valid, her workload and the pressures of caring for an infant are impossible to balance.' Jack waited for the punch line, 'And? What? You dragged me out of retirement because?' The other occupants of the table looked at each other, the man whom Jack did not recognize met his gaze for the first time.

Atlantis November 20th 2010

Sam stood nervously in the control room, she wasn't used to the apprehension or not being present for such an important meeting. She was furious too, Jack had dismissed her and told her he wanted to talk to Landry, Vidrine, Woolsey and another 'shrub' – his words, not hers - by the name of Smith-Johnson, alone. He'd ushered her out, shut the door and gestured she walk away, so much for not taking command – he'd practically pulled the seat out from under her.

The gate techs had dialed earth at his command and he had been having a heated discussion ever since. She watched him as his eyes grew wider and his mouth grew thinner, he was angrier than she could ever remember seeing him. He looked like he was going to lose it any minute. Her eyes widened as she saw his fist slam against her desk, he yelled something at the screen but the glass muffled his words.

Daniel stepped beside her, 'Can you remember the last time Jack was this angry?' she shook her head, 'no,' Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose and frowned, 'no me either, I'm thinking we should be worried.' He looked from Sam to Jack and back again, 'do you think they'll let her stay here?' Sam didn't want to entertain that thought, she had been having that debate internally for the past few weeks and she had never liked the outcome. Today's events, however might tip the balance in her favour, in the short term at least. She couldn't see the IOA, the US Air Force, or indeed any of the government officials across the Earth, agreeing to bring a child wanted by a threatening alien race back to the planet. The threat level would be too great.

Jack tapped his hand on the desk and ended the videoconference. He was absolutely furious with the IOA. He marched from the room and across the walkway, 'Well? What did they say?' Daniel asked him, Sam simply watched him waiting for him to speak. 'She stays,' the relief on her face showed through her practiced officers poise, it warmed his heart but at the same time brought a sinking feeling to his gut, 'for now. You know the IOA, no decision is final until they've reviewed it, exhaustively.' The chauvinistic sons of bitches were right, their predictions were sexist but he had to admit they were spot on. He knew just by looking at Sam and the smile she was trying to hide, that she already loved that little girl. It broke his heart knowing what the IOA were planning.

Daniel said he was going to find Vala and that left him alone with Sam. He realized with all the commotion since the purple woman threatened Ella that he

hadn't checked if she was okay. 'Carter, how are you feeling?' She nodded and shrugged her shoulders slightly, 'I'm fine, I've got paperwork to catch up on if you've finished with my office.' He nodded, 'yeah, I'm finished, its just erm, I, er we need to file a report each on that woman, the purple one, and I haven't got a desk or a pen or anything.'

Sam shook her head, and relaxed a little, 'how have you been doing it up till now?' he tapped her computer monitor, 'been using your computer,' she thrust her chin forwards irritably and opened her mouth for a brief moment, 'its password protected,' he looked down at the keyboard, 'I know your password.' He swallowed nervously, she frowned, 'so what's my password?' he grinned, 'fishing.' She looked away and covered her keyboard as she typed in a new password. He studied the ceiling, 'Cassie97,' her mouth quivered holding back a smile, 'I'll get you a tablet, show you how to use it. Then I'll think up a new password.' His mouth opened before his brain could catch up, 'ooh, private tuition Colonel, the others will be jealous,' she turned around but not before he caught a glimpse of her quickly submerged smile. 'Come on, lets find McKay and get you kitted out,' he followed her away from the control room and into the transporter.

He looked around the small space, 'cosy, ain't it?' she wasn't impressed, 'until you get stuck in it for three hours with Zelenka,' she folded her arms and looked at the floor, 'oy,' he replied, desperately trying not to find the incident amusing. He suddenly found the map of the city very interesting, 'which button do I need for the labs?' he asked innocently. She shook her head and started telling him what was in each zone, he already knew but it was an excuse to watch her talk again.

He made the decision there and then to do whatever he needed to try and repair their friendship, losing her as his lover was one thing but to lose her as a friend too would be too much. He needed her in his life in some form and if she would consent to be his friend after everything that had happened it would be plenty enough for him and much more then he deserved. All too soon she pressed the correct button and the transporter zapped them down several levels.

When they reached the lab they found it empty, small mercies, Sam didn't feel like explaining the Colonel's ineptitude around technology to McKay, easier to issue him a tablet and let him moan. Sam crossed the lab and found McKay's neatly stored collection of tablets, cables, power leads, packs of stylus's, Lanteran-to-Tau'ri (or Lanteran-to-Earth depending upon who you asked) conversion leads and picked up one of the tablets. She heard a thud behind her, expecting the usual, she turned to see Jack putting a delicate looking piece of kit back on a bench, he withdrew his fingers quickly, and his eyes briefly met her gaze. She raised an eyebrow at him, he looked decidedly sheepish, 'it fell,' he shrugged at her silent question. She turned back to the tablet and powered it up, she failed to hide the hint of irritation in her voice as she spoke, 'of course it did Sir.' He tried to act like he used to years back, 'getting snippy are we Carter?'

He slipped closer to her and peered over her shoulder, 'whatcha doing?' she found herself a lot more irked by his childishness than she ever used to be, how she had found it endearing she would never know. 'Setting you up a password,' she typed in the first thing that came into her head, 'Fishing' and exited the window. 'Right, you should have access to everything you need now, your report needs to be finished by 09.00 tomorrow for the weekly data burst to the SGC.' He groaned and took the tablet.

Sam gestured towards the door; he followed glumly, tutting at the tablet. Once they reached the transport he pressed a button eagerly and looked very pleased with himself, the doors opened revealing the main thoroughfare of the east pier. Sam irritably closed the doors and pressed the correct keys for the control room. Wisely, he didn't speak again.

She entered her office, sat down at her desk and immediately began her report on the day's events. She heard him before she saw him, she wouldn't have known he was there if it wasn't for his loud tapping with his stylus. She peered over her screen and stared at him. He was making himself comfortable in one of her chairs; she ignored him and carried on with her work. She was well aware that he sneaked a glance at her every few seconds.

About twenty minutes later, he dragged the chair up to her desk and peeped over her screen, he didn't speak and waited for her to look up. He was wearing his innocent puppy dog eyes expression that made her go weak at the knees, he lifted his tablet over the screen 'where's word? I can't find it.' She couldn't find it in herself to be angry with him, she fought back a smile as she typed in a macro and immediately brought the word processing software installed on the tablet. He smiled and took the tablet back; he dragged his chair back to its place and settled down again.

Sam sighed and tried to concentrate on compiling her report, she failed abysmally. Just having him in the room was an unwanted attack on her senses, his smell was all around her, it was intoxicating and reminded her of her bedroom and everything that had gone on between the sheets. He subconsciously ruffled his hair and made it stick up, his brow was furrowed and he was deep in thought. She had always found him cute when he was trying to figure things out and today was no different.

Her mind started wandering into forbidden territory, flashes of him naked in her bed and slick with sweat, the memory of his hands touching her and his lips caressing her with passion, she felt a stirring in her stomach and fought back a moan. His cough brought her back down to reality with a jolt; she diverted her attention back to her screen and her report.

As she typed a brief summary of what Mandari had wanted, her mind filled with pictures of Ella. Tears pricked at her eyes as thought about the innocent little girl's future and how many people would think they knew what was best for her. Right now all she knew was Ella's need to be loved and that she was looking to her to protect her, the problem was, she needed to be protected from so many people, she didn't know if she could do it alone.

Jack stopped typing, he was sure he could hear Sam crying, but at the same time he was sure he was imagining it, Sam didn't cry at work. He looked around and to his dismay he could see the tears rolling down her cheeks. He hurriedly closed her office door and took his tablet to her desk, he placed it down in such a way it would appear they were discussing something, if anyone were to look.

He grabbed a box of tissues and pulled a few out, 'here,' she took them and sniffed, 'thanks,' she dabbed her eyes. 'I'm sorry, don't know what came over me,' he watched her worriedly, 'you're tired, you're stressed, and you're worried about Ella,' she stared at the desk and nodded. He hesitated before placing a hand on her shoulder, 'you're not in this alone you know,' she looked up at him, watching him, reading him, 'it's why I'm here,' he added, for more reasons than you know Sam, he thought silently to himself.

She looked away from him and thought for a few moments, she slipped her hand up to grasp his. 'I love her Jack,' she whispered clinging tightly to his hand, he squeezed back, 'I know,' she fought back tears again, 'they don't want me to keep her,' her voice trembled. He couldn't lie, 'no,' he gripped her hand as she fought back a sob. 'I will do everything I can to keep her with you,' she nodded, 'I know.'

He stood with her and let her cry, let her express herself in safety, she obviously still trusted him enough to let him see her at her most vulnerable. When she calmed down and released his hand he looked at the reports, 'go fetch her, spend some time with her, I can finish these.' She looked up at him for a moment as if to check he was being sincere, she nodded, 'thanks, for being here for me.' She stood up and cleaned her face with a tissue before crossing the room, 'always Sam,' he said softly, he knew she heard him, her hand froze for a second on the doorframe as she left.

…

Teyla, Daniel, Vala, Sheppard and Cam sat in the mess hall beside the full-length windows, their backs to the door. Baby Ella lay on her tummy on a play-mat in front of them; she reached for her rattle and eyed it determinedly. Torren was sat beside her playing with one of his toys, Ella stopped to watch him, fascinated as he hit his toy xylophone and heard it made a different animal noise with each bang.

'What do you think will happen to her?' Vala asked Daniel, gesturing at the baby, 'If you'd asked me this morning I'd have said she'll be sent back to earth and an appropriate family will be found to adopt her, but now ... what is she doing?' Daniel stared at the baby with concern, she was no longer staring at Torren but bouncing up and down on her hands doing mini-push ups tigger style, her little face lit up in a huge smile looking at something behind them.

'She has seen something she likes,' Teyla told him smiling, she turned to see what Ella was looking at and saw the Colonel only a few feet away walking towards them. Teyla could see the ever so slight redness and puffiness around her eyes but didn't comment. Ella bounced even more vigorously, 'hello Ella, what have you been doing?' Ella cooed loudly at her and followed Sam with her eyes as she walked past Vala and bent down beside her. Sam picked her up and balanced her on her hip, Ella continued to coo and babble, her eyes bright and happy. 'You've been playing with Torren and your rattle, I bet that's been lots of fun.'

Sam picked up the rattle, 'are you going to come play with me now for a couple of hours? Let Daniel and Vala have some peace? Yeah, come on then.' She shifted the little girl on her hip and turned her to face Torren, she waved Ella's hand at him, 'bye bye Torren see you soon,' Torren made a small waving gesture back.

Sam turned back to find Cam watching her bemused, 'I thought ya had a report to write,' Sam nodded, 'I did, all finished. We, will see you later,' she turned and walked away, once more talking animatedly to Ella and Ella babbling back.

Vala turned her attention from the pair to Daniel, 'so provided we get rid of this Mandari and her minions, Ella will be sent to Earth, you know Daniel I think I see a flaw in that theory,' Daniel nodded, 'yeah, me too.' Teyla watched as Sam left the room, something had obviously upset her, 'would they really insist the child be sent to Earth?'

Sheppard and Cam looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders, 'wouldn't surprise me,' the younger man replied, 'but they look pretty close, it'd be damn cruel to separate them.' Daniel nodded, 'I agree,' Teyla thought for a moment, 'could Colonel Carter not adopt her herself?' Cam shrugged his shoulders again, 'I suppose, but the air force aren't all that happy with single parents in combat zones, hell they aren't exactly accommodating to single parents full stop. I can't see 'em agreeing to an adoption if it means Sam retiring. She's too valuable to 'em.' The group sat deep in thought, it was Teyla that broke the silence, 'but that little girl thinks she's her mother.'

...

Sam sat on the edge of her bed, holding Ella close. Ella turned her head and leaned against Sam, she yawned and grabbed a handful of Sam's trademark long-sleeved black v-necked t-shirt and pulled it up to her mouth. Sam shuffled back and lifted her legs, turning herself so she was lying flat on the bed, her head on her pillows. Ella snuggled up on top of her, wriggling so her head was on Sam's chest. Sam stroked her back gently, 'would you like to stay with me all the time Ella, eh, you and me, what do you think?' She reached out for the blanket and pulled it over the two of them, she shifted Ella up so her head was just beside her chin and stroked the soft fair hair, 'I'd love nothing more than to be your new mommy.'

She placed a delicate kiss on Ella's head and looked up at the ceiling, 'I just don't think it can happen. Not how I want it to. I love my job and if I left I'd feel like I was letting everyone down, you can't just replace someone with my experience. If I had my way, I'd still be in command of Atlantis and you'd live out here with me.' She realized her face was wet with tears, she kissed the small head again and listened to the sounds of her breathing, she closed her eyes and inhaled her unique smell, 'god I love you so much Ella, I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't keep you. I'd give up everything for you.' She held the little girl tighter as if that would stop the Air Force and IOA from doing everything they could to take her from her.

**All I want to do … **

** … is love you.**


	12. Chapter 12 - Marionette

**A/N - **Wow 8 reviews on that last chapter, so glad you're all still enjoying it. I promise there will be some answers soon, although there's a few more clues to come.

Thanks for sticking with me and continuing to read, it means a lot.

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**Chapter 12 - Marionette  
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Earth November 10th 2010

Piers Smith-Johnson watched Jack with little more than disdain, 'the IOA were hasty in their decision to make Colonel Carter interim guardian. They require someone else to fill the position until such time appropriate arrangements can be made for long term care of the child.' Jack waited; 'I got that much,' Piers passed Jack a folder. Jack opened it and took out a series of photographs and reports. The reports were written by Sam, McKay and Daniel and covered the details of the pod, the runes, the technology to bypass the iris and Ella herself. There were photographs of the pod from various angles and of the baby.

He picked up a photograph of Sam holding the baby. It was zoomed in on the child being cradled in someone's arms but he recognized the hand and watch, it was Sam. He studied the child for a few moments, her blue eyes looking up at the camera inquisitively. His mind ran back to their first year working together, she had become attached to Cassie so quickly back then. She had even defied his direct orders to stay with her. He was absolutely certain that after spending nearly four weeks with this little girl, Sam was head over heels in love with her. She would be devastated if the baby was taken away from her.

The shrub tapped his pile of papers on the desk and turned it on its side to repeat the process, he laid the now perfectly aligned paper on the desk in front of him, 'Officers of Colonel Carter's caliber, rank and experience are immensely difficult to replace.' Jack knew exactly where this was going, 'not to mention expensive,' he added sarcastically. The shrub nodded and smiled, his expression reminding Jack of the snake-head Apophis, oily, slimy and not to be trusted.

'Do you know how much it costs to train an Air Force Officer?' Jack didn't like where this was going. 'Initial training costs of up to $45,000, phD tutition of $25,000, and $30,000 a year living expenses for four years. Earnings of $35,000 a year whilst ranked 2nd Lieutenant, rising to nearly $50,000 for a 1st Lieutenant, $60,000 per year for three years as a Captain, $68,000 per year for four years as a Major, nearly $80,000 per year for three years ranked Lt Colonel and $88,000 per year for the past three years as a full bird Colonel. That totals over $1,500,000 of tax payers money.'

Jack was pissed before the shrub spoke, now he was really pissed, 'and? In my opinion, money well spent.' Woolsey joined in, 'women of Colonel Carter's, age, may find their priorities change, this may or may not encourage them to step down from active duty, both temporarily and permanently. The IOA wishes to give no encouragement for any US Air Force Officer to change his or her priorities or working arrangement.' Jack stared from Smith-Johnson to Woolsey to Vidrine and Hank, neither General met his gaze, the penny dropped.

'You called me in here cos you're worried if Carter looks after this kid she's gonna wanna start popping babies out?' Hank still refused to meet his gaze, he continued, 'so what if she does? It's her life, her body, and she's more than earned a bit of downtime. The years she's given to her county and she has you lot sniping behind her back about how much she's cost the tax payer. Let me remind you, if it wasn't for Carter, you wouldn't be here to complain.'

Vidrine motioned for Jack to sit down, 'it's not something we discuss lightly, unfortunately we have to put a monetary value on personnel, it is distasteful but it has to be done,' Jack was still incredulous, Woolsey continued, 'Our concerns are largely regarding her intentions towards the infant, Estella, or Ella, as the Colonel has named her. A woman of Colonel Carter's age has roughly a 40 percent chance of conceiving naturally; this figure will drop to 20% within 12 months. A further reduction is to be assumed by her time spent deployed.' Jack didn't bother to add her abdominal injury into the equation, it wasn't his place to, 'so, what you're just going to block any request she makes to adopt Ella and deny her Earth leave just in case she wants to find someone to knock her up?' Jack finally sat down, he didn't want to but his knees were killing him. 'Unfrigging believeable,' he slammed his fist on the table making Woolsey jump.

Ryk'l February 1st 2004

Janet looked from Jacob to Jack and back again expecting one of them to crack and shout 'surprise' or 'early April fools' or something else cliché. Neither of them did. 'Please tell me this is a joke Sir?' Jack shook his head, 'no can do Doc.' Her eyes darted to Jacob hopefully, he shook his head slightly, 'all true, to my knowledge. As far as I can figure someone has gone to a lot of trouble to set this up. They know our movements and they know Jack.'

'Could this be a Goa'uld trick, manipulating us into changing history?' Jack shook his head, 'nope, but somebody wants us to play about with the timeline. I am so gonna get my ass kicked when I get back to my time.' Janet and Jacob raised an eyebrow each, 'she wouldn't even let me go back to watch the ball game, she'll go bat shit crazy when she finds out I grabbed you two.'

Janet fought back a smirk, 'I take it you mean Sam?' Jack nodded, 'its written in her handwriting. I just I got this feeling, we gotta trust this letter but I don't know, its weird.' Jacob leaned back in his chair, 'speaking of the letter, what's it say next?' Jack picked up the letter and smoothed it out, he cleared his throat and looked at the other two, 'ready? Got those brains ready?' He started to read aloud.

_The gleam of the first, the thrill of the chase, the symbol of peace seeks his counsel from God's grace. Whilst the ladder of the lord fights the demons of Hades the young one is at work on a circle without the 0. The first prime remembers the years the flare took and gave with the help of the memorial hero. _

Atlantis November 30th 2010

Sam was in the control room looking at some data one of the techs was analyzing, Wraith sub-space communications, and was startled by a high-pitched sound. She leaned back and looked through the glass to her office. Ella was propped up in one of the chairs, her face alight with pleasure at something in front of her. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open, she suddenly jumped a little and shook her arms in delight as she giggled.

Sam frowned and stepped away from the console, 'monitor the situation and inform me of any changes,' she told the tech. She walked towards her office and spotted Jack behind a chair, he jumped up and wiggled his hands about, grinning from ear to ear, 'peek a boo!" Ella squealed with delight and shook her arms again. Sam forced back a smile and watched them for a few minutes.

Realising her behaviour could be seen as inappropriate - being caught staring at a General would not be a good thing - she entered the room. She headed straight to Ella, 'what's he doing? Eh? What's Jack doing? Is he being silly? Jack being silly?' Ella held her arms up to her and she gladly obliged. 'Ooh, come here baby,' she settled Ella in her arms, supporting her bottom and head. She turned to Jack, now leaning against the chair rubbing his knees, 'I assume you've finished the commissary requisition forms, seeing how you've had time to play,' she smirked before adding a hurried, 'Sir.'

He looked comically offended at the idea he was shirking off, he stood up and walked towards her, 'Yes actually I have,' he looked down at Ella and tickled her gently, she giggled and squirmed in response, 'and we were having lots of fun, weren't we Ella, till Sam came in and was mean and stopped us.' He pretended to sulk. Sam pointed at the door, 'should I just go work somewhere else until you children have finished playing?' Jack looked at Ella, 'what do you think, you think it would be better if Sam played too?' Sam rolled her eyes, 'you want Sam to play too Ella? Sam play too? Yeah? Sam you play too?'

He looked up at her with his puppy dog expression, she tipped her head to the side, they had danced this dance many times before, both as CO and 2IC and as lovers. She remembered him looking at her like that when he wanted to put the Simpsons on during a documentary on atmospheric change and meteorology, he had pleaded with her, 'but it's a brand new episode Sam.' She'd snuggled on his lap and held onto the remote tightly, he'd continued to whine and sulk for a few minutes before falling quiet.

She'd been suspicious long before his lips found the sensitive spot on her neck, his warm breath tickling her as he teased her, 'Jack stop it, I'm trying to watch this,' she'd laughed. He'd smiled into her neck, taking his sensual assault lower, 'you wouldn't let me watch my programme,' he kissed her throat, 'so I'm gonna stop you watching yours.' He'd unbuttoned her shirt quick as a flash and turned her over on her back whilst she squealed and giggled. She tore herself away from the memory and let her eyes rest on the man in front of her.

'Sam, has mission reports to review, unless Jack would rather do it for me.' His eyes widened, a small smile creeping across his face, 'no, you, review away,' he carefully took Ella from Sam. The physical contact making her pulse race and her temperature rise, images of him pressing her against her living room wall, pinning her against the bookcase and kissing her hard as he unbuttoned her pants, flew through her mind in a rush. Her breathing quickened and she felt like her chest was heaving, she was sure she was bright red.

The sound of whirring and locking chevrons snapped her out of it, she hurried to the walkway and watched as the event horizon kawooshed and formed. 'Incoming communication, Colonel Sheppards IDC,' Sam nodded, she felt Jack's presence behind her and felt her skin tingle all over.

'Put him through,' she tapped her radio, 'John, go ahead,' static crackled for a few seconds, 'Colonel, seems you're all kinds of popular in the Galaxy these days.' Jack was close enough to feel him tense, 'Go, on,' Sam was taking deep breaths trying to ignore the warmth spreading through her.' 'Seems the locals on P6X-894 are led by women, and will only discuss trade and alliances with women,' a second voice interrupted, 'I haven't even seen a man anywhere, you don't think they keep them locked up somewhere do you?'

'McKay!' Sheppard answered, 'They're probably off doing all the manual jobs and the women take on the political roles,' Sam mulled the thought over, an image of Jack in denim cut offs chopping wood outside his cabin, the sun shining on his tanned toned abs, sweat shining on his back and chest. She bit her lip to stop herself moaning and tried to keep her mind on P6X-894.

'You think it's safe, for us, you know, to stay here, they could, attack us and…' Sam rolled her eyes, 'tie us up somewhere and use us a sex slaves?' Sheppard asked sarcastically, 'Really, don't you think we should get back in the jumper and head back, and…' Sam sighed irritably, 'Oh, I think you're quite safe Rodney,' she said before she could stop herself, 'hey! Are you, is she saying I'm not physically attractive?' Jack snorted behind her and she swatted him with her forearm out of habit. 'Jack, seriously,' she hissed turning to look at him; she glared at him, meeting his gaze. She realized he wasn't looking into her eyes in the way she was his, the deep brown like melted chocolate and coffee, but looking past her and turned to see the tech's staring. Cameron had appeared at some point and was stood by the steps. He raised his eyebrow at her and smirked.

Ignoring them and putting some space between herself and Jack she spoke again, 'What are they requesting,' 'our, I quote _alpha female_ and if required, several members of her _pack_ knowledgeable in relevant fields.' She waited for it, one, two, 'so Vixen, what foxy ladies you taking on your field trip?' That was bad, even for Jack, she gave him a look she hoped conveyed her lack of amusement. She tapped her radio, 'SGA6, Dr MacKenzie, Dr Keller, Lt Hailey and Vala to the briefing room,' she looked down at the wormhole and tapped her radio again, 'John, bring your team back through, tell the locals we'll be there in 2 hours, Carter out.'

She returned to her office and grabbed her tablet, 'You want me to sit in, its why I'm here, toss in my 2 cents worth,' Sam smiled, he leaned against the door frame, his Atlantis uniform hugging him in all the right places and looking the picture of perfect holding Ella. 'I'll be fine,' she breathed, Jack nodded, 'We'll find somewhere else to play then,' he grinned and lifted Ella's hand up. As he reversed, he waved it gently, 'bye bye, bye bye Sam,' she waved back, 'bye bye Ella.' She turned around as he disappeared from view and fanned herself with her tee. She only had to brush her hand against his and her whole body was on fire, she realized she was sweating under her jacket and took some deep breaths to calm herself. What was wrong with her these days?

.

.

P.S. I don't pretend to know anything about officers pay but googled it and took the figures from a USAF website. airforce dot com /benefits/officer-pay/ I guesstimated she must have done at least 3/4 years to reach 1st Lieutenant (I mixed up 1st/2nd Lieutenant assuming it went 1-2 not 2-1 and have subsequently swapped them over) and at least 6 years to reach Captain (including her phd studies over 4 years - which I assume she completed whilst enlisted due to her comments in 'Prodigy') and took a round figure near the value in the box. As I say it was all guesstimates based on that table but I did try to be as accurate as possible.


	13. Chapter 13 -Follow the Yellow Brick Road

**Another A/N – This is a reformatted version of the chapter posted on the 29th/30th. I have reformatted the dialogue to conform to the standard style and prevent it from being so confusing. I will reformat the previous 12 chapters as and when I can, alongside writing continuing chapters. **

**Thanks for the advice P ****:)**

**I've amended the spelling of 'shalwar' too Tel nok, thanks for pointing it out.  
**

**A/N - Apologies for the long delay in getting this part. RL decided to crap on me from a great height. This is where the hard work starts paying off for me, I've spent hours researching history and religion for this fic and I can start feeding it in now. **

**I decided to make this chapter extra long to make up for a lack of update last week. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for sticking with it. The next chapter is half written too. **

**Thanks to my beta murrinholi for the suggestions and pointers to make it better. **

**N/B - it was correctly pointed out to me that Jennifer Hailey would be at least a Captain by now, so she just got promoted. Thanks hedwiggins :) **

**Chapter 13 – P6X-894**

Atlantis/P6X-894 – November 30th 2010

Jack sighed; he shook his head and turned to look at Ella sitting happily in his arms.

'I don't know how long I'll be, if I'm not back in a couple of hours she'll need a feed, she's had two already today. She'll need 5 oz then take a nap, then she'll want another feed during the afternoon and another before bed. Later if I'm not back could you give her a bath and put her down, and she won't settle if she doesn't have music for about 15 minutes then she'll lay quietly for a few minutes until she drops off.' Sam rattled on.

Jack rolled his eyes.

'And if she…' Sam continued.

'Jeez I though Sara was bad when she left me with Charlie for a couple of hours to go shopping,' he told Ella. He turned back to Sam, 'Stop fretting, we'll be fine, won't we?' he tickled Ella's nose and she reached out her hand to try and grab him.

'Make sure she's in bed by 7 if I'm not back,' Sam folded her arms and looked into the jumper bay, she could see Laura in the cockpit and Vala craning her neck to see what the hold-up was. 'And don't get her too excited playing games, she gets cranky and then she won't sleep and she'll be over tired and miserable tomorrow and…'

Jack interrupted her again, 'that'll make you cranky too. I get it, just go, she'll be fine.'

Sam tore herself away from the little girl she had come to think of as her daughter; she wanted to scoop her in her arms and cuddle her tightly. Truth be told she didn't really want to leave her, even if it was just for a few hours. Before she had a chance to back out, she marched to the jumper and closed the door.

Sam sat down in the front right seat of the jumper, Laura had taken the front left, Teyla sat behind her and Vala had claimed the remaining seat up front. Captain Jennifer Hailey, Jennifer Keller, Major Anne Teldy, Sergeant Dusty Mehra, Dr Alison Porter and the newest member of SGA6, Captain (Dr) Aimee Terrano, were seated on the benches in the back.

'Are we all set?' Laura asked, everyone murmured their assent; she took the jumper into the gate room and hovered before the gate. 'Ready and waiting Colonel,' she turned to Sam.

Sam nodded, 'Okay Teyla, let's dial.'

Teyla leaned forwards and dialed the correct address.

In the back Jennifer Hailey was eyeing up her potential competition, she turned to Aimee, 'What's your specialty?' Aimee balanced her P90 on her lap, her strawberry blonde curls pinned up in a low bun, a few strands coming loose around her face.

'I'm a Dr of Anthropology and Linguistics,' Aimee replied.

Jennifer nodded, a smirk playing on her lips, 'You like rocks, like Dr Jackson.' Aimee didn't miss a beat, 'and you like rocks in space, same difference.'

Laura started the engines at Sam's order and flew the jumper through the gate, in 3.2 seconds they reappeared on the other side. The sky was deep blue, there was not a cloud in sight, the ground was blanketed in vibrant glossy green grass dotted with poppies and buttercups. A path led from the gate through the grass and over a hill, it was worn smooth with use and yellow like sandstone. 'Oh boy,' Sam muttered under her breath.

'We're off to see the wizard,' Amelia piped up from the rear compartment. 'General O'Neill would love this,' Vala grinned leaping forwards and leaning on the back of Sam's chair, 'I wonder if there's an emerald city?'

Sam groaned internally, if these women lived in green buildings she might actually scream.

Teyla pointed to the left, 'The settlement is approximately a thirty minute walk from the gate. It is bordered on the left by forests and to the right by their crop and cattle fields.'

The jumper zipped over the grass making it ripple in the unnatural breeze. After a few minutes, a wide structure appeared on the horizon. As they got closer, they realized it was a wall, built from identically sized blocks of perfectly carved greenish grey stone. The wall was approximately a mile in length and appeared to form an enclosure. They yellow path ran up to a wooden door and split in two, each branch ran parallel to the wall and potentially encircled the structure.

'The settlement is surrounded by the wall; it is approximately one mile square. Rodney was particularly interested in their mining and carving methods but none of the women wished to enlighten him,' Teyla told them.

Sam smiled, imagining his frustration.

To one side of the walled complex were row upon row of vines; on some were clusters of purple and red, a relative of the grape perhaps? From others hung clusters of brown nuts and others appeared to be olive trees. The fields continued as far as the eye could see, the reds, yellows and oranges of fruits or vegetables punctuating the green in vibrant splashes. Moving blobs on the horizon in various shades of white, beige and brown confirmed the presence of animal husbandry.

They neared the wall and saw the gates were slightly open; several figures in brightly coloured clothing appeared to be waiting for something. They pointed up into the sky directly at them, one ran off inside as Laura landed the jumper smoothly.

As the group filed out of the jumper more faces appeared around the gate and laughing and giggling filled their ears. The air was warm and still, the faint aroma of cooking food wafted around them. Birds tweeted merrily from their perches and fluttered over the wall. It was meat of some kind, lamb or mutton perhaps. The group took the last few steps to the gate, kicking up small clouds of dust as they moved.

Sam looked at the group watching them, all looked to be in their late teens or older and seemed to be transfixed by their guests. 'I am the leader of Atlantis, my presence was requested.'

Jennifer Keller stood beside her eyeing the young women, 'Why are they staring at us?'

Sam shook her head and looked to Teyla for help.

'They did not act in this manner when we arrived earlier,' the younger woman replied, equally as confused.

Aimee started to study the excitable women with her keen Archaeologists eye.

The women were all wearing short plain brightly coloured tops with small sleeves that stopped below their breasts and what appeared to be long skirts in a matching patterned fabric. As the women moved it was clear some were wearing brightly coloured loose fitting trousers that gripped at the ankles. Others again wore the pants and a tunic style top, some full length and others finishing at the knees, and again brightly coloured. They wore a length of multicoloured translucent material similar to chenille, wrapped around the body in various ways, some tucked in at the waist and tossed over the shoulder, others simply pinned over one shoulder and yet others had it draped over their heads and bosom. Many wore gold bangles and earrings and their hands and feet were painted in delicate henna like designs. Their silk like pants and tops caught the sunlight and shone brightly, the gold jewellery glinted and sparkled as though it were all freshly cleaned and polished.

Aimee was staring open mouthed in a fashion Daniel would be proud, she just needed a pair of glasses to squint through.

Sam turned to her, 'Dr? Any helpful insights?'

Aimee nodded, 'their clothing is reminiscent of traditional Earth Indian, some garments are similar to the sari, others resemble the ghagra choli traditionally from the Rajsthan and Gujarat areas, see the three elements, very similar to the lehenga, choli an odhani. Others wear the Punjab shalwar kameez or churidaar and kurta. It's fascinating.' She took out her notebook and began scribbling.

Sam rolled her eyes.

Two women approached through the crowd. One was wearing pink blouses and blue and green embroidered dresses made from two lengths of fabric, she wore gold bangles and a thin lace like fabric in the same bluish green draped over her head. The second was dressed completely in green, her clothing embroidered with silver and accessorized with silver bangles and earrings, a silvery sheen of material covered her head and was wrapped over one arm.

The other women fell silent as she approached. Her hair was long and lustrous; it was shining black and parted at the centre of her head. Her hair set off her defined cheekbones and matched her eyes, which were wide and almond shaped, the iris a deep rich brown. Her skin was darker than Teyla's, rich and smooth with a caramel glow and her full lips protected perfect white teeth. She smiled at Sam and pressed her fingertips together before bowing slightly.

'I am Asta, on behalf of the council I welcome you to Plaiyadon. Please forgive our behaviour, we are not used to such fair visitors.' She gestured to Sam, Hailey, Aimee and Keller, 'Your hair is like the corn in the fields and the sunshine and the sand, you must have travelled a great distance to meet us.' As the woman moved, she spread the sweet scents of cinnamon and nutmeg.

It was only then that Sam's brain caught up, she looked around at the women, they were all dark haired, browns, blacks, auburns, and even a few redheads but no blondes. She also noted that many of the women had dark eyes, various shades of hazel and brown and possibly some green.

Asta was still staring at her, she reached out and took her chin with her soft fingers and pulled her face closer. 'Your eyes are the colour of the flowers that grow in our fields.'

Sam froze, she attempted to smile politely, 'Thanks, I guess.' She looked down at the hand still holding her in position as its owner continued to stare.

'Cornflowers,' Aimee hissed from behind her, pointing at a row of the bright blue flowers.

'Ah, er, any chance you could…' Sam asked as she pointed at her chin.

Asta withdrew her hand quickly, 'My apologies. The Maharani wishes you to join her and her council for their midday meal. Please, follow me.'

Asta led them through the gates and into the city. The path continued and to either side was clusters of small one-storey buildings with terraces on top. Beside each cluster was a small group of trees, women sat in their shade sewing and cooking. The youngest women were grouped together sitting listening to an older woman; they made notes on scrolls, their pens scratching against the parchment.

Aimee was more than a little confused, the building style was very much like that of the workers houses in Ancient Egypt but the tiled terrace roof and educational system suggested influences from a later, cooler, period, possibly Roman or Greek. She made a mental note to pass this on to Sam.

As they continued through the city she was able to see the buildings varied greatly in size and from the appearance of the women, each cluster was for a different family group. Several buildings however, were different, smoke rose through chimmneys or vents and women could be seen hammering blades into shape and smelting molten metals, others worked with leathers, sewing and cutting pieces to make gloves, belts and holsters. The smoke was acrid and left an unpleasant bitter taste in the mouth.

The worst building was set to one side, a goat protested loudly as it was led into a side chamber. The bleating was silenced abruptly and a woman emerged holding a bloodied knife. These women all wore simple white robes made of a cotton-like material, smeared and dirty from continuous use.

Laura's stomach churned realizing it was a slaughterhouse, the smell of blood and meat was nauseating, she had to fight back a heave. 'I'm gonna baulk,' she clasped her hand to her mouth and tries to steady herself.

Jennifer passed her a bottle of water, 'Here, sip this slowly.'

Asta led them on quickly; they passed what appeared to be a smoke house. A red faced woman was closing the door, behind her were rows of fish hanging on hooks, smoke billowed from a vent in the roof and the pungent smell of cooking fish replaced the raw meat. The woman wiped her brow and sealed the door shut.

Aimee turned away and saw the large central building they were headed towards, she was momentarily floored and couldn't help but blurt, 'what the hell is that supposed to be?' Sam and the others turned to her, she pointed at the building.

It had a pointed roof and was flanked on all visible sides by carved pillars. She had expected pillars but had not imagined she would see the upside down unrolled scroll commonly associated with Greek temples, particularly the Parthenon Temple from which this seemed to have been modeled. Pillars and hieroglyphs would have fit with the Egyptian style housing but this was just baffling. To make matters worse, it was standing on what appeared to be a three-tiered step pyramid in a style usually attributed to the Aztec's.

'I, this, look, what, it,' Aimee sighed. 'It makes absolutely no sense, Indian dress, Egyptian houses and Greek temples sitting on Aztec step pyramids.' The others blinked at her and stared at the temple confused.

Sam was intrigued, 'Such a diverse mix in one city? And all Earth based? That doesn't make any sense.'

Aimee was glad someone understood how important this all was. 'Dr Jackson would freak if he saw this,' she stated. Sam smiled and turned to speak to Asta. Aimee started up at the building in amazement wondering what wonders she would see inside.

Asta led them up the stone steps and through large wooden double doors where another woman greeted them. She also had long straight black hair and almond shaped eyes and was wearing green and silver like Asta. She conversed with Asta in their native language before turning to them. She bowed her head slightly, and looked up, her gaze fell on the Sam before she turned and, holding her palm upward drew her arm across her body and towards the room,

'Come, the Maharani will see you now,' she informed them.

Asta nodded, 'Thank you Tayette.'

Tayette and Asta led them into a long stone room, a wooden table ran the length of the space and wooden benches ran parallel to it. A woman in pink and purple silk with a wide silver trim sat at the head of the table, her hair was mocha and fell in shining waves around her shoulders.

She stood up and pressed her palms together and bowed, 'I am Eletar, the Maharani, leader of my people,' her gaze shot straight to Sam.

Sam bowed her head in respect, 'We are honoured to meet, you, I am…'

'Samantha Carter,' Eletar interrupted, 'leader of the Lanterans. What brings you to Plaiyadon?'

Sam stared in shock for a few moments, 'How do you know my name?'

Eletar stared, 'I make it my business to know everything. Your purpose Samantha?'

Sam was polite and forceful, 'I'm here to negotiate trade between us.'

Eletar tipped her head. 'How are we to know you are sincere?'

'We will just have to trust each other, won't we?' Sam told her, tipping her head to one side and smiling slightly.

Eletar smiled, 'Prove your intentions are honourable and take our initiation rights.'

Sam was thoughtful, 'What do these rights entail?'

Eletar smiled knowingly, 'Now that would be telling. I have decided I like you. Please, join us for our meal, you will need your strength.'

Women of varying ages entered the room carrying steaming dishes of food and laid them on the table. Five women wearing green and silver entered the room and bowed to Eletar, 'My council, you have already met Asta and Tayette, this is Aesle, Neese, Phaeo, Ora and Cotanya,' the women dipped their heads in turn.

Cotanya smiled sweetly, 'Please, sit down.' The council members took their seats around the table; they did not sit together and left gaps between them.

Sam nodded at the spaces and took a seat between Eletar and Cotanya. Vala and Teyla were wary as they sat down; the food and serving utensils fascinated Aimee. Both Jennifers sat quietly and looked around uncomfortably, SG6 took their seats quietly. Dusty and Alison looked over the table at Neese inquisitively, slowly but surely conversation began, questioning the clothing of the other, the buildings and the vessel in which the Lanterans travelled in.

Sam spooned a red dish of meat and vegetables onto her plate; she picked up two rough round biscuits and used one to scoop up some of the meat and sauce. It tasted good, like steak and tomatoes with herbs, rich and hearty but with a Mediterranean feel to it. She looked at Eletar and Cotanya, 'So, these initiation rights?'

Cotanya looked at Eletar before speaking, 'Each Council member must prove her worth. She must take the tests of delirium, discord, sense and temptation.' Sam finished the first biscuit and waited for Cotanya to elaborate; 'You will begin the initiation after your meal.' Sam had the distinct impression she would be missing bath time at this rate. She sulked through her meal desperately wishing she could see Ella and give her a cuddle.

Her mind drifted back to their brief physical contact earlier in the day. It had felt red hot on her skin like a burn, like electricity it had tingled and burned, flowing all the way to her toes. The way he had looked at her when she gave him instructions for feeding and bathing Ella, amusement, exasperation and affection all wrapped into one in his deep brown eyes. The way she hadn't needed to say anything but his eyes answered her anyway, she'll miss you too, he'd said without words. She checked her watch, it had only been a couple of hours and already she missed them both like crazy.

Ry'kl Feb 1st 2004/1754

Jack touched the controls and turned to glance at Jacob over his head, 'Selmak, 250 years you say?'

Jacob bowed his head, 'Yes Colonel, this planet was deserted over 400 years ago before the Hak'tyl found sanctuary.'

Jack nodded, 'On your head be it if you're wrong,' he felt the humming beneath his hands and took the jumper into the air. When he was sufficiently high enough he thought '1754.' The time pulse shot over the jumper and the landscape beneath changed. He saw no targets on the console and found a clearing to land in.

'So campers, where are we?' He turned around and looked expectantly at his two companions.

Janet looked up, 'Sir, are you sure we should be doing this? How do you know it's not a Goa'uld trick?'

Jack shrugged his shoulders, 'What can I say? I know stuff. Stuff I can't tell you.' He looked at her sadly for a moment before looking at his hands.

Janet watched him, she had an uneasy feeling about something, she didn't like it one bit but if Sam had written this letter then she needed her help. She was damn well going to do all she could for her best friend. She looked down at the letter and her note book of scribbled notes, 'Well Sir, the symbol of peace is a dove, from what Jacob has said God's Grace refers to you and ladder of the lord is probably Jacob, other than that,' she shrugged her shoulders, 'I don't know.' She passed Jack the letter, he thought for a minute.

'It's all word games and numbers puzzles, like could symbol of peace be a name like Gods grace means Jack? And these demons of Hades, that's the freaky zombie snakehead things Anubis made. So, whilst you were doing something to fight the zombies this 'young one' was working somewhere else. So who was the young one?'

Jacob stared at him, 'To me? Anyone under 45.'

Jack grinned, 'Not me then.'

'To refer to them as 'young one' it follows that they're younger than the author, presumably Sam?' Jacob suggested.

Janet nodded, 'So who we talking about, a relatively new recruit? Sir, who did you come into contact with that was younger than Sam?'

Jack thought, 'Several kids from the academy, oh that Hailey girl, chip on her shoulder the size of Alaska. Lieutenant Elliot I think his name was, kid that got killed when the Goa'uld attacked the Tok'ra base.'

Jack thought, something hit him, 'Hang on, you two should know better than me, this young one's around in your time, when I picked you up,' he re-read the first line _the gleam of the first, the thrill of the chase_, he slammed the letter down. 'Jonas, gleam of the first, bet ya Jonas means something to do with a dove.'

Jacob leaned back, deep in thought, 'So we have to get Jonas in the time I spent on the Gamma site, okay, where from?'

Janet spoke, 'I think Sam said he was on a dig somewhere. The rest must be the gate address.'

They sat in silence for a few moments each one deep in their own thoughts. 'Jack,' Jacob began, 'the clues to find the jumper mentioned a triangle, and it was referring to the degrees in a triangle, what if circle is the same thing, 360 degrees, so a circle without a zero is 36, P-36.'

Jack looked down at the paper, 'So first prime, not Teal'c then.'

Janet nodded, 'The first prime number?'

'2,' Jack agreed, 'years the flare took and gave with the help of the memorial hero. Flare?'

Janet's eyes widened, 'Solar flare! Sir, didn't a solar flare take you back in time?'

Jack nodded, 'Yeah,' he thought about the term 'memorial hero' and smiled, George Hammond, an entire X-302 Daedalus class in his memory. 'Took us back about 30 years, so we're fetching Jonas from P36-230 between the 1st and 4th of February 2004. So, who knows the gate address?'

Plaiyadon – November 30th 2010

Sam followed the councilwomen from the building and down into a square courtyard. In the centre of the courtyard was a small stone building, steps led down to a stone doorway, it reminded her of the pictures of the entrances to tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

Cotanya gestured to the building, 'To prove your worth you must retrieve the Golden apple from the labyrinth. It will test your heart, your soul, your ingenuity and your strength of mind. Four may accompany you into the labyrinth, choose wisely Samantha, and remember, only one may proceed to the final challenge, the fairest of you all. You must explain why you have chosen your team.'

She sighed and thought, her skills lay in leadership, military tactics, physics, Aimee brought linguistics and historical and cultural knowledge, Vala would be a good choice in terms of ingenuity although her past discretions could prove to make her less than honourable. Alison and Jennifer had similar skill sets; both with scientific backgrounds but Jennifer had the military experience if it became necessary. Anne fell into the same category as her, a military leader so she immediately discounted her. Jennifer Keller was about as far from military as it was possible to be, she had a naivety about her and her medical knowledge could prove valuable. She ran through the qualities of the women with her and made her decision.

Sam looked around at her team, 'Okay, obvious first choice, Aimee, something tells me there's gonna be stuff to translate, maybe even historical references we'll need to use.'

Aimee lifted her arms and pointed to the varying architectural designs, 'whatever gave you that idea?'

Sam smiled, she was beginning to like this kid. 'You question everything and you're not afraid to voice an opinion.' She turned to her friend, 'Vala, your unique skill set, bravery, problem-solving and er, ingenuity,' Vala grinned. 'Dr MacKenzie, you're sharp, questioning, and I hear you can read people and situations like a book, psychology doctorate could prove useful when we're undergoing the test of delirium and Jennifer, your endurance, you're highly suspicious and your selflessness. Obviously your medical knowledge could come in very handy too.'

She turned to the others, 'Anne, I need to remain in charge whilst I'm not here, Alison, Jennifer, our skill sets in many respects are too similar, out science background for example. I'm hoping whilst I'm gone you two can work together and get us some answers about this place. Sergeant Mehra, I think we both know you'd get bored,' Dusty nodded, smiling.

The councilwomen watched the exchange.

Eletar nodded to Sam, 'Your choices were made not only for knowledge but for personal qualities, very wise.'

Cotanya clapped her hands twice and the stone door slid back to reveal a dark passageway.

Sam took a deep breath, 'Let's go,' she led the four women down the steps and pulled out her torch. She turned it on and entered the passage, Aimee, Vala, Laura and Jennifer followed. Once they were all inside the door slid shut with a heavy thud plunging them into darkness.

'I think I've seen this movie.' Aimee piped up almost immediately, she pulled out her torch and shone it above her head, 'the blonde at the back's the first to go.'

Jennifer squeaked.

'She's joking,' Sam called back. Jennifer's nervous reply didn't surprise her in the least.

'Still, anyone else fancy going last?' Jennifer asked. Several murmured, no's and nah uh's followed echoing around the small space.

Sam rolled her eyes, 'Aimee, take point, I'll cover your sixes as you're all too chickensh…' her voice trailed off as the group squeezed passed her.

Aimee slowed as the passage started to slope downwards, the gradient steepened incrementally with every step. Suddenly the ground disappeared from under her, she tried to grab onto the walls as she fell feet first through a hole.

She landed with a splash into icy cold water and heard muffled shrieks somewhere above her. She started to swim upwards, her body craving air, when something heavy landed on her and pushed her deeper under water. She struggled to untangle herself from the flailing limbs of whoever had fallen in after her and fought to the surface. She gulped great breaths of air and coughed a little. She looked around as she started to tread water to see Vala and Laura a few feet away.

'Are you okay?' Keller called down from above.

'Just peachy,' Aimee retorted, glaring at Laura, 'she nearly drowned me!'

Vala shot her a look, 'The feeling's mutual, that one dragged me down with her.'

Laura swam to the side of the pool and pulled herself up onto a wide ledge. 'Ach go boil yur heid, the both of yous. So we took a wee fall, no harm done eh?'

Up in the passage Sam was helping Keller move very slowly down the treacherous decline. She found a few handholds and together they approached the hole. Sam flashed the torch straight ahead; solid stone blocked their way, a dead end. The only way was down.

'Right, I'll lower you as far as I can then I'll slip down,' she told the younger woman.

Aimee watched with amusement as Jennifer's feet appeared through the hole. It was like watching a train wreck unfold; Jennifer was petrified and clinging into Sam's hand for dear life.

'Jennifer, you've got to let go!' Sam told her.

Jennifer shook her head, her eyes tightly closed, 'I can't,' she called out. Dust started to fall beside her and a few stones dropped into the water making little ripples on the surface.

'Jennifer, I can't hold on much long... Argh!' Sam'a scream mingled with Jennifer's as they both plummeted through the ceiling and hit the surface of the water with a loud crack. Water splashed everywhere, Jennifer surfaced coughing and Sam grabbed her under the chin and dragged her over to the rock ledge.

Aimee and Vala lifted Jennifer onto the ledge. Sam hoisted herself up beside them, gingerly stretched her muscles and rubbed her legs with her hands. 'Much as I like falling twenty feet into old unstable structures with you, let's not do this again.'

Jennifer rubbed her stomach and took a few slightly wheezy breaths, 'Agreed.'

Sam got to her feet, held her own glow stick above her head and looked around them. The cavern was eerily silent, the water retuning to a glass like state, turquoise in the glow of the stick. The walls on three sides were rough and ridged; a dark line ran around the room three quarters of the way up. Above the line was pristine white and below it was dark and stained. It smelled fresh, no dank or damp, almost clean but not chemically so. Two great stone plinths sat on a thin rock ledge on the wall opposite flanking a large expanse of painted rock wall. The ledge was barely wide enough for a person to stand on and was hovering several feet above the water level. The painted rock wall was smooth and flat, like someone had sanded it down deliberately. It was covered in an intricate painting of three figures. Behind the figures were the night sky, the sun, the land and the seas. The central figure was male and had four heads; he was say cross-legged on a lotus and had four arms. His back right hand was holding a book, the front right a chain of prayer beads; the back left a lotus and the front right a water pot.

On either side of him sat a beautiful woman. They each had four arms and were dressed in long flowing robes. The woman on the left was sat on a white lotus and wore white robes; she carried a book in her back left hand, a chain of beads in her lower right and a stringed musical instrument between the other two. The woman on the right was dressed in bright pink and stood on a pink lotus. She carried a lotus flower in each backhand and was dropping coins from her lower right hand, her lower left hand was held upright with the palm facing forwards.

In various nooks and crannies along the rock walls either side of the pool were small statues of animals. She could see a bear, a deer, a tiger, a frog, a dog and a turtle or tortoise but couldn't make out those furthest away.

Aimee was staring open mouthed at the painting, 'it's fascinating, the painting depicts the story of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Brahma.' Her face was alight with pleasure as her eyes danced over the statues and painting.

She turned back to the group, her eyes shining and full of excitement, 'when Brahma created the universe he sought the help of Saraswati, goddess of knowledge to sustain the cosmos, he used her intellect to institute and maintain the 'dharma' the sacred laws which would ensure stability and growth in society. He also sought the help of Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, this gave him the means to ensure cosmic order. Brahma asked the goddesses, 'which do I need more, knowledge or wealth,' Lakshmi replied, 'Knowledge does not fill an empty stomach,' to which Saraswati replied, 'wealth keeps man alive but gives life no meaning.' Brahma decided that he needed both knowledge and wealth to sustain the cosmos, without knowledge he could not plan and without wealth he could not implement his plans. Wealth sustains life and knowledge and the arts give life meaning, both Lakshmi and Saraswati are needed to live a full life.'

Sam was having flashbacks to similar conversations with Daniel; Aimee was practically bouncing up and down.

'Don't you see?' Aimee asked ecstatically.

Sam sighed and shook her head, 'No.'

Aimee directed the light from her glow stick towards one of the empty plinths, 'we cannot proceed without Lakshmi and Saraswati to guide and sustain us, we need to prove that we accept both into hearts.'

Sam waited for her to continue, 'And how do we do that?'

Laura looked around the room, 'The animals, one to represent wealth and one tae represent knowledge, right?'

Aimee nodded, 'exactly.'

Laura walked towards the left wall and stared at the right, Sam did the opposite, 'So what animals have we got,' Vala asked.

Sam craned her neck to see clearly, 'a fox, owl, weasel, rabbit, raven, buffalo, turtle/tortoise, elephant, frog, dog, fish, badger, and a bird, crow maybe.'

Laura called out the names of the animals she could see, 'crane, dolphin, horse, python, peacock, swan, pig, bull, cow, deer, pelican, and an eagle.'

Vala turned to Aimee expectantly, 'so, which ones do we need?'

The younger woman frowned, 'They're all associated with either wisdom or wealth.'

Vala crossed the room and stretched up to reach the first animal, a fox, 'So we just try all the combinations?' She took the fox from its perch, a low grinding and rumbling shook the room slightly. Water suddenly flowed down from the sun and moon in the painting, the water level rose over the ledge soaking their shoes, covering their feet and continuing to climb.


	14. Chapter 14 - Throw me the Idol!

**A/N – Thanks so much to everyone who has battled through my poorly formatted dialogue to get to this point, I really do appreciate it. **

**Special thanks to murrinholi for helping me with the Scots dialect.**

**I couldn't help it I just had to put the movie references in. **

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**Chapter 14 – Throw me the Idol!**

**Plaiyadon - November 30****th**** 2010**

"Or perhaps not." Vala put the fox back hurriedly but the water level continued to climb, fast. Jennifer squealed and Laura stepped backwards until she reached the solid wall.

"Vala, why do you always have to touch everything?" Sam asked her exasperatedly.

Vala winked, "It's in my nature darling." She replied jovially.

Sam tipped her head, "Well just for today, can it be in your nature not to touch anything without checking for booby traps!" She half ordered, half begged.

Vala folded her arms, "What's a booby?" She asked looking genuinely interested for once.

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "I'm sure, Aimee would love to have a discussion about the origins and evolution of the word but right now we've got more important things to worry about." She shot back.

Aimee turned around and yelled at them, "For crying out loud will you lot knock it off! I'm trying to think here!"

Sam pursed her lips, crossed her arms and waited expectantly.

Aimee paced up and down the ledge thinking. "Okay. Lakshmi, was flanked by Elephants they poured water over her and symbolized her royalty." She stated matter-of-factly.

Sam looked up. "Found it." She sighed, noting its position high up the wall.

Aimee pointed at the other plinth, "Saraswati, used the swan as her carrier, a symbol of purity and discrimination for the good of mankind."

Laura looked up and over to where Sam was pointing. "Well ain't that just sods law there up the top."

"Of course they are," Aimee sighed loudly.

Sam looked down at the water, it had reached her knees, "Right, we haven't got time to waste. Swimming or climbing?" She asked the two youngest women.

Aimee answered first, "Climbing," she stated.

Laura pointed at herself, "Me, swimming," she seemed unsure.

Sam went into full leader mode. "Right, Aimee, you're gonna get the elephant, I'll get the swan. Laura, Vala, swim out into the pool and we'll throw the statues down to you. Jennifer, swim over to the other side and be ready on the ledge to put the statues on the plinths." She ordered.

Sam slipped her hand into a tight crevice and used it to hoist herself up. Vala and Aimee dove into the pool and swam strongly across and started treading water, Jennifer swam slower but steadily made her way over. Aimee was already scurrying across the rock face, her agility comparable to a mountain goat. Sam's wet shoes were hampering her progress, her feet slipping on the smooth rock. She held on tightly and pushed herself up and over until she could reach the statue of the swan. As she lifted it a jet of water pushed through the rock level with her stomach and sent her flying backwards into the pool.

As she fell she dropped the statue. Vala was waiting and followed the trajectory of the swan; diving down into the deep turgid water with only a few strong strokes she reached the bottom. She picked up the statue and tried to swim to the surface; it was too heavy and started dragging her down. A second pair of hands joined her own, blonde hair billowed in front of her. Together they brought the statue to the surface and handed it to Jennifer.

Aimee, having seen and heard what had happened to Sam, positioned herself to the side of the cavity containing the elephant, she plucked it from its perch and was able to avoid the jet of water designed to send her plummeting to the icy depths. She tried to climb down but the rock was wet and slippery.

"Catch!" She called out to Laura and tossed the statue to her.

The weight of the statue caused Laura to sink but arms either side of her brought her to the surface, she passed the statue to Jennifer as Aimee took a dive off the wall into the pool. Jennifer then placed the elephant on the second plinth and the water stopped. The room fell silent and the five women looked around them wondering what was going to happen next.

Suddenly, the rumbling and grinding started again and the water level dropped quickly, as water began to drain from the room. The water level returned to normal on the far side of the room, a section of the wall behind the larger ledge slid back and to the side, revealing a carved tunnel.

They swam across the room and picked up their soaking wet bags, and through the door as quickly as they could. As soon as they were all in the tunnel the door slid closed, solidly behind them.

"Well isn't that a surprise," Aimee said to no one in particular.

Laura was up front and held her glow stick away from her body, to allow as much light down the tunnel as possible, "Guess whit direction the tunnel goes in?" She asked the others sarcastically, "Doon," she replied emphatically.

Aimee rolled her eyes, "Of course it does."

Sam scrunched her eyes and frowned as the young woman started walking down the tunnel, there was something about her, she couldn't quite put her finger on it but there was something.

They trekked down the tunnel for about ten minutes before Aimee called to them, "We got steps."

They carefully made their way down over 100 steps, after that point Sam lost count; at the bottom of the steps, the tunnel widened enough for two adults to comfortably stand side by side. The tunnel continued for a few metres' before opening out into small room. The walls had been plastered and were covered in intricate carvings and paintings of Egyptian Hieroglyphics.

Sam instinctively assumed a defensive position when she saw the figures flanking a doorway opposite them. She relaxed when she realized it was a pair of black stone statues each wearing a golden headdress, both were holding golden spears and wore loincloths and sandals.

"Someone's been taking decorating tips from King Tut," Aimee's sarcasm cut the revered silence with a knife.

Sam gave her the O'Neill stare she had learned so well over the years and Aimee shut up. All five started to study the walls. Several images seemed to repeat, a woman with a head piece of a circle with horns either side, a green man wearing long white robes, a white headdress and holding a crook and flail. What appeared to be the same man in normal colours, wearing normal robes also repeated and a third figure, a man with a jackal's head, wearing a loin cloth and holding a staff and a small ankh.

"Well I know who that is," Sam told them pointing at the Jackal-headed figure.

Aimee nodded, "I bet ya do." Sam frowned in confusion.

"I read all Dr Jackson's reports," Aimee shrugged her shoulders. "Your run in with Set, and the," she held up her hand and spread the fingers, 'boom!" Sam glared at her, "Okay, the others are Isis and Osiris."

"Does the wall say anything special?" Sam asked, knowing full well that, when she asked such an open-ended question of an archaeologist it was going to be a long-winded answer.

Aimee moved to the hieroglyphs furthest left and pointed to the top row.

"The story goes, that Osiris, Isis and Set were the children of Ra and Nut, along with Harmachis and Nepthys. Osiris married Isis and Set married Nepthys. When Ra ascended, Osiris took the throne; Set was jealous and plotted to steal the it for himself. Set had a beautiful wooden chest made to Osiris's exact measurements and offered it to the person whoever fit it best. When Osiris climbed inside Set closed the lid, nailed it shut, covered it in molten lead to seal it and tossed it into the Nile."

Sam rolled her eyes as Aimee continued "Isis set off in search of her husband's body. The chest had come to rest in a bush at Byblos, as the bush grew it became a tree and completely enveloped the chest. Isis recovered the chest, returned it to Egypt and hid it. Set found the chest, cut Osiris's body into 14 pieces and scattered them throughout the land. The story does continue but that's where the hieroglyphs stop." Aimee looked over at the doorway and the creepy statues. "Who wants to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first?"

Sam rolled her eyes, not another smart arse film buff. "After you," Sam gestured.

Aimee led them down the dark tunnel; it was roughly 1 metre wide and 2 metres high. The floor was smooth sandstone and the walls were plastered and painted and decorated with hieroglyphics. Her orange glow stick created eerie shadows across the walls as she moved. Laura kept pace behind her, followed by Jennifer then Vala, Sam brought up the rear. She eyed the statues suspiciously as she passed them, almost daring them to move. Sam turned around when a familiar grinding reached her ears; a stone block came down and sealed the passageway. It came as no surprise to her; she simply turned around and followed her team, until she realised the group had stopped.

"Aimee? What's going on?" she called. Looking past the other's shoulders, she could see Aimee studying the wall to her right, the space around her seemed to be wider than the tunnel. Beyond the octagonal foyer like area was, what she assumed was another tunnel. With the multicoloured lights of the various glow sticks, she could see a passage opening on its left wall. To her left was another single opening that led to two further openings.

"I think we have to put Osiris back together." Aimee called back

Sam blinked, "We have to what?" She asked.

"There's a message here, it says 'Follow the steps of the Queen and search the missing wonder that once graced the final resting place of the Pharaohs. Return our King to his former glory and he will grant you passage to the East.' " Aimee paused. "There's a picture on the wall, it's the traditional picture of Osiris split into 13 pieces."

"13?" Vala queried, "I thought you said he was chopped into 14 pieces?"

Aimee nodded, "Yeah but Isis only recovered 13, the er, phallus was swallowed by a fish."

Laura looked round, "Isn't Isis the mother of Horus?" She asked.

Aimee nodded.

"How'd she manage that without, you know," Vala caught Sam's eye, "the necessaries.' Her voice trailed off as she made a hand gesture towards her lower extremes.

Aimee cleared her throat. "Some say Isis gave birth to a son Horus and hid him on the isle of Chemmise before searching for Osiris's body, that's the nice-ish version, others say she fashioned a phallus from clay and used it to copulate with her dead husband and was impregnated by him." Aimee explained uncomfortably.

Laura shuddered, "I wish I hudnae asked."

"It looks like we're looking for white upper robes, white bandages around his legs, a red sash, a crook, a flail, 2 blue/green peacock feathers, the 'atet', that's the white crown, his green face, 2 green hands with gold cuffs and the jewelled collar." Aimee turned around too eagerly.

"What?" Sam asked her, her brow furrowed.

"What do you mean, what?" Aimee asked jovially.

"What aren't you telling us?" Sam demanded.

"I think it's a labyrinth, there was supposed to be a giant complex in front of the great pyramids but the stone was stolen during the Roman occupation of Egypt." Aimee rattled off looking down one of the tunnels, "You know, I think we should split up, Colonel?"

Sam narrowed her eyes at the young woman, "Captain, what do we do with these 'pieces' when we find them?" She had deliberately used her subordinates' title to remind her of her authority, it seemed to have worked.

Aimee swallowed nervously. "I was hoping we'd work that out when we find them."

"Vala, Jennifer, you take the left fork Aimee, Laura, take the right, I'll go on my own down that one." She pointed to the gap in what she presumed was the exit tunnel. "Keep in contact via the radio." She stared at them and gave them a 'well' gesture. The four women split up into their designated pairs and disappeared into the darkness.

Sam marched confidently down the tunnel her glow-stick casting an eerie orange light over the hand painted hieroglyphics; they seemed to move as she did. The voices of the others echoing down the bare passages gradually grew quieter until the only sounds she could hear were her breathing, the rustle of her clothes as she moved and the muffled thuds of her boots and small stones crunching underfoot as she crossed the dusty rock. She kicked a rock as she walked, the click and series of thuds as it rolled, had her jumping and looking around her, her hand on the knife strapped to her thigh. When she realised it was only her, she smiled to herself and tried to steady her breathing and heart rate; it was loud, rapid and she could hear her heart thudding in her ears.

She briefly wondered how many pairs of shorts Howard Carter must have gone through whilst excavating Tutankhamun's tomb, she wouldn't admit it out loud but she was crapping it. That old black and white movie about the mummy had scared her shitless as a kid. She'd convinced herself before she joined the programme that it was ridiculous, pharaohs dead for thousands of years in a sarcophagus stayed dead - how wrong had she been? At least they didn't run around arms outstretched, covered from head to toe in bandages, making that creepy moaning sounds - that was what had caused the nightmares. Well, that, and Mark sneaking into her room late at night and moaning loudly, thudding slowly across the room towards her bed, his arms out in front of him. Her father had put a stop to it when she had run screaming into her parents' room 5 nights in a row, Mark in tow still doing mummy impressions.

She couldn't understand how Daniel had done this for a living, wandering around dusty old tombs and crypts. The Ziggurat had been bad enough, at least the passages were wider and there hadn't been thousands of eyes looking at her from the walls. The tunnel turned right and right again doubling back on itself. Her mind ran over the events in the Ziggurat and images of the flesh-eating creature flooded her visual cortex. Her heart hammering, she flicked the light upwards to examine the ceiling, empty, what did you expect Sam? A Goa'uld in a mummy costume?

She chastised herself and chuckled at her behaviour. Although, she thought, Aimee had a point, it is the lone blonde that gets picked off first - usually screaming like a girl and trying to run in heels, THEN she trips, breaks her ankle and gets eaten. She bounced along happily in her regulation boots knowing she was being ridiculous - and even if she wasn't, she could outrun a slow moaning mummy any day. The tunnel turned left and continued forwards several metres. An opening appeared in the darkness to her left, taking a few steps forwards she could see a second opening parallel to the first. Raising her glow-stick almost to the ceiling, she could see the second passage was a dead end, the first looked more promising. She strode down it and followed, as it turned right. The cool air started to bite against her hands and cheeks, it made her wonder if Ella was warm. She stopped for a second trying to work out her thought patterns but decided now was not the time.

She felt a breeze blow her hair slightly as she neared the right turn before her, she apprehensively continued turning right once more, eventually the tunnel turned right again and became a dead end. The wall in front of her was lavishly decorated; the design was carved into the plaster leaving a highly intricate network of hieroglyphics and lines. A green hand with a golden collar was painstakingly crafted and inlaid with precious stones. Sam studied the hand and was fascinated by the dark almost emerald green of the stone with bands paler greens in concentric circles running through it like veins, it looked exactly like Earth Malachite. The collar itself was inlaid with rows of what Sam thought, with her basic knowledge of Ancient Egypt and geological deposits, was possibly yellow serpentine. The precious stones glinted and shone, reflecting the light around the small space, the transparent gems arranged in perfect straight lines across the wall, acting like prisms turning it into a vibrant whirl of colour, vaguely reminiscent of the Goa'uld version of an opium den.

She reached out to touch the central element of the design, the stone was cold and perfectly smooth as she ran her fingertips lightly over its surface. She was still entranced by the level of workmanship and put a little pressure on the hand; it gave a little beneath her fingers. She pushed it firmly and it clicked into place. She lifted her radio to her mouth.

"This is Carter, one down, twelve to go."

Jack paced the control room, it had been nearly five hours now and the planned communiqué was due. The gate came to life, the event horizon turning blue and doing its usual thing. SGA5 was due back from some dig in some old ruins Daniel, predictably, thought were fascinating. The I.D.C was authenticated and the iris was lowered, SGA5 followed a M.A.L.P through, the scientist was babbling ecstatically about something and practically launched himself at McKay. McKay seemed disinterested and brushed the other man away, Jack heard him say something about the lab and the storage room.

After a few more minutes, the team had dissipated into various corridors and the room was quiet again. John crossed the room below him and skipped up the stairs.

"Sir," John saluted. "Have I missed it?"

"ET has yet to phone home," Jack replied, his gut was telling him something wasn't right, he couldn't out his finger on it but something was irking his subconscious. The gate suddenly dialed in and he relaxed a little. The familiar blue glow lit everyone up like they were in a nightclub. He remembered how Sam's eyes had always glistened a vivid electric blue in the glow, god he missed those days.

"General O'Neill this is Major Anne Teldy, over." The officer's voice came through the radio clear and crisp.

"This is O'Neill," he replied.

"Colonel Carter asked me to make contact in her stead. The locals want her to prove herself by taking some initiation tests."

"Excuse me?" he asked, thinking he must have misheard.

"She took Dr Keller, Dr MacKenzie, Captain Terrano and Ms Mal Doran into the tunnel with her."

Jack blinked, "Tunnel?' he caught John's eye who looked equally confused.

"Ya, some door in the ground, looked like a crypt. I asked what was down there but the locals aren't talking."

"And you just let them go?" John asked incredulously.

"Colonel Carter wasn't exactly asking for opinions, Sir. I did as I was ordered to." The woman answered, her tone verging on the side of insubordinate.

"Find out what you can and update me in an hour." Jack ordered as he started to pace the floor. He drew a hand across his throat and the tech shut down the gate.

"Why do I get a bad feeling about this," John asked, watching Jack for a response.

"Because we just sent our people to the clutches of the most unfathomable, unreasonable, unpredictable species in the universe," Jack retorted.

They looked at each other and in unison said a single word, "women."

Sam retraced her steps back to the main corridor; she passed the dead end and continued she reached two parallel right turns at the far end of the corridor. She took the first turning; it came back on itself to run parallel to the main corridor. As she traveled further down the corridor she became more tense, her breathing and the sounds of her boots echoing around her. She heard something whoosh behind her and spun around, her hand grabbing the knife from its sheath on her thigh.

The corridor fell silent once more. Sam looked around her nervously; she had definitely heard something. She turned back and continued down the corridor, after a few steps it turned right. A rhythmic sound reached her ears, quietly at first but as she turned right and then left it grew louder until she could finally hear it clearly enough to identify it. Clip clip clop, clip clip clop, clip clip clop, clip clip clop; it was hooves. You never have a ball of string when you need one, Sam thought, praying to whatever god was out there she wasn't going to end up having to play the part of Theseus.


	15. Chapter 15 - Illusionists

**LOCATIONS - Earth/Pegasus**

**DATE - July 2010 Onwards**

**LANGUAGE - UK English (Character dialogue will be written to reflect their individual dialects where appropriate and US English terms will be used as far as possible.)**

**Side note - SGU does not exist in this universe.**

**Changes in date/location are denoted by a heading in bold.**

**A/N - Apologies for the delay in getting this chapter up. I've added some of chapter 16 to make up for it. I hope to have the next chapter up as soon as possible. Many thanks for sticking with me.  
**

**Thank you very much for the review Lover123, I am out of practice using dialogue in this way. I appreciate your patience in reading through the poor formatting. I am gradually reformatting the previous chapters and have taken into account your (and others) comments regarding it. I hope you enjoy the Scots. **

******I think most of the Scots should be easy enough to understand but I've added a couple of translations at the end for anyone who is struggling.**

******Apologies, I don't know what's going on with the formatting on here recently. I've put the scene breaks back in now, it should be easier to read.**

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**Chapter 15 - Illusionists**

**Plaiyadon - November 30th 2010**

Clip clip clop, clip clip clop, Laura froze in the tunnel. Clip, clip clop, clip clip clop.

"Can ye hear 'at?" she whispered.

"What?" Aimee shook her head. The tunnel was silent.

Clip clip clop, clip clip clop.

"Er it is a gain." Laura insisted, she swallowed nervously.

"Hooves?" Aimee asked, turning to look back the way they came. "Seriously, if this is a Minotaur…' She stopped suddenly and turned to Laura. She placed a finger over her own closed lips as a signal to her companion. She reached for her side arm and peered around the corner. It was clear. She turned back to find her companion, the normally strong, vivacious young woman, was frozen to the spot, her whole body paralysed with fear. "What?" she asked her.

"It isnae a Minotaur." She finally managed to whisper, so quietly it was barely

audible. Her blue eyes wide with fear.

"How can you be so sure?' Aimee whispered back, trying not to give their position away.

"A Minotaur doesnae hae fower hooves." She practically squeaked.  
"Then what is it?" Aimee asked. A shadow fell on the rock beside her. A long nose was lifted into the air, a mane whipping upwards followed by two curled legs. A loud whinnying and the thud of hooves bashing down against the rock floor deafened her. A loud hissing sigh filled the tunnel, followed by a quieter grunting sound.  
Laura shrieked and ran in the opposite direction. Aimee bolted after her, her side arm cocked. She wasn't afraid of horses but if one got spooked in here it could kill them. She couldn't take the chance.

•••

"This place is starting to creep me out," Jennifer told her companion, looking behind her nervously.

"Trust me, creepy, is living, in one of these things,' Vala retorted stalking off down the tunnel.

"Living in?" Jennifer looked horrified and scurried after her.

"Yes darling, when I played host to the depraved, slimy, parasitic, bitch, Quetesh," Vala snapped.

"Oh yeah, the thing in your head." Jennifer pointed lazily with her finger.

"It was a Goa'uld," Vala retorted.

Running footsteps echoed down the tunnel, Vala spun around trying to work out where the noise was coming from. It sounded like a horse was loose down here with them, the clip clop of hooves reverberating around them and drowning out the footsteps.

Both froze and listened intently. A high-pitched scream reached their ears.

"What the hell was that?" Jennifer asked, petrified.

•••

Laura ran down the tunnel, colliding with the walls at every turn, she could hear the horse gaining on her. It came closer with every step, the thunderous sound of its hooves growing louder and louder. She turned a corner and found herself face to face with solid rock, a dead end. Her breathing grew louder and faster, she frantically ran her hands over the rock trying to find a secret opening. In the darkness she barely noticed the glittering gems set into the wall. Line upon line of intricate patterns surrounding a pair of feet, bandaged together, carved from white serpentine and bordered by peridot.

She turned around, her eyes fixed on the shadow of the horse making its way up the tunnel. It had slowed, almost like it knew it had cornered its prey. It tossed its head, throwing its mane once again and sighed loudly. She panicked as it turned the corner and backed into the wall in an effort to get away. She threw her arms up to protect herself and screamed. Her back pressed against the jewelled wall.

She braced herself for the impact of solid hooves against delicate flesh, but it didn't come. Nothing happened. The horse didn't charge, it didn't step away everything just went silent. Laura lowered her arms and looked around her. There was no sign of the horse. The tunnel was empty and dark once more.

Footsteps approached at a run down the corridor. Aimee appeared in front of her, her gun raised and balanced over the wrist holding her glow-stick.

"Whaur dae't gae?" Laura asked quietly. She was was still shaking and her voice shook with each breath she took.

"It was here, I was following it," Aimee looked around them both, trying to work out what had just happened.

"It cannae hae jist disappeared! Ye sure ye didne see it?" Laura looked past Aimee and saw the corridor was completely clear.

"I think I'd have noticed a filthy great stallion blocking my way." Aimee snapped.

Their radio's crackled and Sam's voice came through clearly. "Aimee, Vala, Laura, Jennifer, please respond."

Aimee pushed the talk button on her radio. "It's Aimee here,"

"What's going on, I heard screaming?" Sam asked.

"Some wierd shit's going down Colonel." Aimee kept one eye on Laura and the other on the empty corridor.

"You didn't happen to hear a horse did you?" Sam's voice echoed into the room.

"You could hear it too? Wait a minute, how is that possible? You're like, miles away." Aimee asked, the confusion etched into her face.

"I don't know, and I don't like it." Sam replied.

Aimee spotted the jewelled wall behind Laura and realised its significance.

"Looks like we found another one of those bits of Osiris in the chaos."

"Push it in, I think it works like a combination lock." Sam's disembodied voice told her.

Aimee ran her fingers over the wall and found the feet were already locked into place.

"It's already been triggered." She told her CO.

Laura stared at it for a moment, "Ah think that wis me." Aimee raised an eyebrow, Laura pouted nervously and added, "Whilst executing a strategic retreat."

"Not cowering in fear like a school girl?" Aimee retorted.

"Hey! Kids! This is not the time for your petty arguing, now grow up. We need to work together if we wanna get out of here, not act like we're still in kindergarten!" Sam shouted through the radio.

"Yes ma'am," they replied in unison.

"Now, lets get moving before anything else happens." Sam ordered.

"After you," Aimee held out a hand gesturing back down the way they had come.

Laura lifted her nose into the air and walked off leaving Aimee to follow, a murderous glint in her eye.

•••

Sam sighed and glared at the rock wall in front of her, she turned sharply and continued down the passage. She had thought at their age they could play nicely, obviously, she was very wrong.

She stormed down the tunnel until it opened into another tunnel in a sort of T-junction. She could see the passage ran a fair way to the right, but doubled back on itself to the left. She assumed the left would be a dead end, with the way her path had brought her to this point it made no sense for it to be able to continue. She decided to check it anyway, and peered around the corner.

In the light from her glow-stick, a wall of gems glittered and shone brightly. A smile graced her features as she saw the familiar design and approached it carefully. This piece was in the shape of a sash, and was carved from carnelian. It's slightly transparent structure reflecting the light like a prism. She decided not to waste time studying it and pushed it gently, locking it into place.

The tunnel suddenly shook and rumbled, it sounded like rocks were crumbling and falling away, but her tunnel was completely solid. Not wanting to wait, and find out the hard way what the rumbling was, she headed out of her tunnel, and darted past the dark opening from whence she had came.

•••

Vala and Jennifer continued down their tunnel, the sudden rumbling and shaking tossed Vala sideways into the small dead end to her left and Jennifer fell to the right, landing on her bottom. The ground began to disintegrate between them, the rock falling away to reveal a great chasm beneath. Jennifer pushed herself back on her bottom hurriedly, as the edges of the hole began to fall away too.

Vala stepped back as the ground crumbled beneath her feet, each step back she took caused another chunk to fall away. She felt her back hit solid rock and looked down in horror as the ground cracked under her boots. She looked around her, running her hands frantically over the surface of the rock, hoping there was something she could grab onto, but there was nothing. The wall and ceiling were completely smooth.

Jennifer's small tunnel turned right and ended abruptly, she retreated back until she was flush against the wall facing the hole. She was paralysed with fear, her eyes locked onto the chasm below her, a great pit of blackness that would swallow her up after Vala.

"Jennifer, help!" Vala called out, knowing she was going to have to try and jump, but it was too far, she would never make it.  
Jennifer was still stuck to the spot, her gaze never waving. Her hands shook and sweat dampened her palms and the insides of her joints. Vala threw her glow-stick to her, she made no move to catch it and it bounced off to the side and rolled on the ground.

A sudden bright flash of colour caught her eye and she lifted her gaze in amazement. The wall beside her was studded with gems and decorated with hieroglyphics. In the centre of the wall was an Ankh, made from alternating bands of gold and lapis lazuli and surrounded by white serpentine and red jasper.

Vala bent her knees and took a deep breath.

Jennifer stared at the ankh and looked back at Vala.

Vala pushed herself off from the wall and leapt into the air.

It was as though time were standing still. Jennifer saw the horrified look on Vala's face as she realised she wasn't going to make it. She looked back at the wall and dived at it, pushing the Ankh into the wall and locking it in place. If they were going to die, they might as well help the others out.

Vala continued to fall, Jennifer braced herself for the inevitable scream as she plummeted to her death, but instead, Vala landed with a thump on the solid floor of the tunnel. She pushed herself up on her hands and looked around her.

"What the hell is going on?" She asked as she brushed the dust from her black BDU's.

Jennifer collapsed down the wall, shaking like a leaf and almost in tears.

•••

Realizing the shaking had stopped; Sam stopped walking down the tunnel. She pulled up her radio. "Vala, Jennifer, Aimee, Laura? Everyone okay?"

"Fine here Colonel," Aimee replied quickly.

"Vala? Jennifer?" Sam asked again, listening carefully.

"You know what Samantha, I think someone is trying to kill us." Vala told her.

"Maybe just make us crap our panties." Jennifer muttered.

Sam opened her mouth to ask what had happened when Vala spoke again, preempting her question.

"The floor gave way underneath us, Jennifer pressed one of those pieces into the wall and, well it turns out the floor was completely solid the whole time." she explained.

Sam rolled her eyes, someone was taking lessons from Thor.

"Whit if its pairt o the test?" Laura asked.

"What do you mean?" Sam replied.

"Thae folk told us we had to pruive oursel, the tests o delirium, discord, sense an temptation. Ah rin fro a horse that wasnae really there, the gruind fell away frae yous bit ya didnae fall. Whit if its the test o delirium? Thair playing wi our heids."

"Controlled hallucinations?" Sam asked.

"Aye, daena believe ocht ye see or hear, ye ken?" Laura reiterated to the group.

"Yeah. Right, you heard her, everyone be on your guard."

"But what triggers them?" Jennifer asked. "They can't have just started for the hell of it."

Sam thought, then it hit her like a freight train. The horse and the shaking had each started after she had locked in a piece of the puzzle.

"The pieces of Osiris. Locking a piece in must trigger a hallucination."

"And pressing another one turns them off." Aimee added.

Sam stared around the dark tunnel wondering where on earth the Plaiyadons had gotten hold of such technologies. The insertion of the same hallucination in all five of them, over a wide distance, was a mean feat in itself. Then to engineer an interactive hologram with matter manipulation capabilities was like something straight from TV, she pictured the holo-room on Star Trek and smiled. At least it would make Jack happy. She wondered for a brief moment if she might find him a phaser down here.

"Okay, we continue our search but no one locks in a piece of the puzzle before someone else finds a second piece. The less time we're exposed to the hallucinations the better."

They each traipsed down their own corridors, their eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary and of course, the elusive puzzle pieces.

**Mandari's ship - November 30th 2010**

Mandari paced the length of the bridge, her skin shining a vibrant shade of violet against the sleek white floor and paneling. Eleven of her crew stood before her, straight and tall, their hands clasped behind their back. She looked them up and down and made a deep rumbling sound low in her throat.

"You, show me," she pointed at a curvaceous woman with short shining black hair and wide orange yellow eyes.

The woman bowed her head, her skin started to ripple and bubble like water as it boiled. The purple scales faded, the whole skin smoothed and started to pale, the fuscia turning pink then becoming more orange, before paling further to a soft ivory peach. The hair unbraided itself and fell about her shoulders in two pigtails, soft and wavy. Bangs framed her slimmer face, parted at the side. Her nose and chin became more pointed and her eyes paled to white before turning grey-blue. Her body and hips thinned and she smiled seductively, twirling her dark hair between her fingers.

Mandari circled her, inspecting her officers' handiwork. She nodded and smiled. Her crew member looked completely human, a perfect naked replica of one of the women she had scanned.

"Impressive, you?" She raised an eyebrow at a woman at the opposite end of the line. She was tall and well built but still feminine; her hair was a reddish brown and fell about her waist.

The woman bowed respectfully before completing her own transformation. Her skin paled to a soft tanned caramel, her height reduced and her small frame became more compact. Her eyes became almond shaped and took on a rich brown shade. Her hair seemed to shrink back into her skull and turned a light golden caramel. She fixed Mandari with a piercing gaze and folded her arms beneath her pert breasts.

Mandari looked her up and down and smiled. One by one the women transformed before her, each taking on the appearance of a different human female. One turned dark blonde, her cheeks widened, her chin became more pointed and and her lips thinned. She smiled sweetly and fluttered her eyelashes. Another became a brunette, her hair falling into a sleek bob, her eyes ice blue. A fourth became a dark blonde, to light brown, her eyes turned green and her expression turned steely, her hair in a sleek bun at the base of her neck. Another took on a more exotic appearance, her dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail and her eyes wide and chocolate brown, a cheeky expression grazing her full lips and fun loving face. Yet another, became a brunette, her mid-brown hair streaked with caramel, her frame fuller and her stance more relaxed and masculine. Her hair fell in a sleek curtain to the tops of her breasts, her eyes a deep hazel.

Another became younger; her light auburn hair fell in a smooth curtain framing her light face, her green eyes framed by thicker eyebrows; her expression shrewd and thoughtful. The tenth turned blonde, her stature shrinking and her expression turning stony, her now wide nose tipping skywards slightly. Her eyes turned dark hazel and her hair curled slightly, her full pink lips were pursed tightly. The next grew a mass of tight auburn curls and her eyes turned bright blue, the stereotypical picture of a Scot. Her frame was slight and she was only a little taller than the blonde, she smiled widely and her posture oozed confidence. The eleventh became a strawberry blonde; her hair was loosely curled and pinned back into a bun.

She was tall, slim, and had wide blue eyes.

Mandari turned to them, "You have all done well, however, only one of you will take your place amongst the Lanterans and prepare for our arrival. You will tell me everything about the child and discover the secrets of the city so that we may take it in one fell swoop. I will not tolerate failure."

She smiled without showing any teeth and her skin turned pale, her stance became military and her red hair turned golden blonde. Her hair fell into a low ponytail and framed her face in soft bangs, parted to the side. Her chin became stronger and cheeks rounder. The yellow of her eyes turned green and then sky blue, her nose turned up slightly and slight hollows formed below her cheekbones. She placed her hands on her hips and smiled cruelly, her wide eyes enlarged and she raised an eyebrow.

"Now, who should I choose," she asked in her stolen voice. The women stood to attention, stern expressions replacing those native to their image.

"Yinkow, you will lead the advanced force," her gaze fell on the woman.

"It will be my honour," she bowed and met her leaders icy gaze with her own resolute stare.

"I want the first prisoner within three days." Mandari told her.  
Yinkow bowed gracefully.

Another woman approach carrying a pile of neatly folded clothes, she passed them to Yinkow who accepted them silently. She quickly pulled on the matching panties and bra, followed by the grey pants, black socks and shoes, and t-shirt of the Atlantis uniforms. She zipped up her jacket and straightened it; she stood tall and proud.

"Prepare the transbeam." Mandari ordered.

**Plaiyadon - ****November 30th 2010**

Aimee and Laura reached a dead end and shrugged their shoulders.

"Nothing here, let's turn back." Aimee held her torch up to light their way back.

Laura looked around and studied the hieroglyphics around them, all the people were pointing towards the dead end. She looked up out of habit and realized the space above her head was much darker than she had expected. She lifted her own light and saw the tunnel continued upwards.

"Thare's something up thare." She told Aimee, looking around to see if there was anything to hold on to.

Aimee returned to the end of the tunnel and craned her neck to look up the hole in the ceiling.

"I cannae see anything," Laura told her.

Aimee huffed, "Here, I'll give you a leg up."

Laura grudgingly accepted the help and after a few minutes, she found her head peering over the side of a ledge. She gripped on tightly and pulled herself up. She raised her glow-stick and looked around the space before her. She let out a sigh and turned to Aimee.

"Ye're gaun tae wanna see this."  
Aimee struggled to find footholds to climb up with; Laura lay on her stomach reaching down to her. The psychiatrist grabbed her hand and pulled for all she was worth. Aimee pushed on the rock and gained enough momentum to partially climb onto the ledge. She finished her ascent under her own steam and looked around.

The tunnel before her was completely smooth, the rock completely covered in a layer of plaster - even the floor. The hieroglyphics and carved relief were more lavish and intricate than those below them. There were no bare sections of plaster and many of the images were inset with painted and varnished clay pieces as a minimum. Some places had a precious stone inset into the design. The effect was more dramatic and gave the tunnel a brighter and more expensive feel.  
Aimee looked to Laura, the latter shrugged her shoulders. Aimee picked up her radio.

"Colonel," she waited for a reply.

"It's Sam, what's up?" her C.O reminded her.

"The maze. There's another level." Aimee sighed staring at the walls once more.

•••

It only took Sam a few minutes to find another piece of the puzzle. Just as she was about to let the others know, her radio crackled, Aimee told her the maze had another level above them. Things really weren't going to be easy for them were they? She thought it best to check on her other team members before sending anyone further into the unknown and, after confirming they were still in one piece, sent them up a level to join Laura and Aimee.

She quickly grew bored of staring at the wall whilst she waited for them to find another piece, but she wasn't taking any chances. There was no way she was pushing this button until another one could be pushed in quick succession. It was anyone's guess what the maze would throw at them next.

She kicked the dirt with the toe of her boot and looked down the dark tunnel. She let her mind drift and smiled as she pictured Ella giggling at Jack's antics. She knew he'd be a wonderful father to Ella.

She tried to imagine him with Charlie, playing catch and trying to take him fishing. Her bittersweet fantasies were shattered with the sound of a gun shot, the gun shot that must haunt him every day. She wondered if he would ever truly be able to commit to another child after losing Charlie. Certainly, he'd bonded with Ella, cared for her with love and affection, but it could be rationalised as the affection you have for a friend or distant relative's child. He gave Ella back to her every day, he got the fun bits, she got the sleepless nights, the sobbing, and the worrying.

She yawned at the memory of the previous night. Ella was teething and there was no consoling her, she'd tried the teething ring Ronan had carved, a plastic chewy animal thing that had been sent with one of the supply drops, and the pain relieving gel you put on gums, but nothing helped - not that she had expected it to. She'd spent hours stroking her head and back and talking gently to her until she finally dropped off, exhausted from the crying and pain.

She wrapped her arms around herself, what if Jack could't console her like she had, what if Ella thought she'd abandoned her? A single tear rolled down her cheek as she pictured Ella crying for her, waiting for her to come back.

She took a deep breath and tried to wipe the image from her mind, she needed to keep a clear head, to remain alert and on-task. It was her responsibility to get her team out and back to Atlantis safely. Anything could lurk down here, and god only knew what the next challenge would be.

She tried to occupy her mind by studying the wall and puzzle piece. White robes carved from serpentine surrounded by Lapiz Lazuli and Carnelian. She allowed the fine details of the carvings and plaster relief to capture her senses, her analytical mind examining the fine tool marks and intricate paintwork. The level of marksmanship was astounding; she really would have to get photographs for Daniel. He would be blown away by the two rooms they had seen so far.

Her radio crackled into life, bringing her from her reverie.

"Samantha, we have found the other hand." Vala stated simply. "I'm pressing it now."

Sam held her breath for a few seconds, looking and listening. It felt like an eternity before a familiar rhythmic clanging of metal reached her ears. She held her breath as she realized what it was.

"Jaffa! Kree!" rang out in a booming echo down the tunnels.

"Sam, you might wanna press that button, they're getting closer and they're carrying something in a funny tank hanging from a pole." Jennifer told her worriedly.

Sam pictured the Goa'uld transport vessels and knew whom this hallucination was for. She put her hands over the robes and pushed hard, it didn't budge.

"Crap!" she hissed.

"Sam!" Jennifer called down the radio.

"It's stuck!" She gasped.

Sam threw her weight against the piece but it still didn't move.

"Any time now would be wonderful darling!" Vala added.

"I'm trying here!" she retorted.

Sam rammed her shoulder at the wall; the shock reverberated through her body as she felt it give a little.

"Preferably before they attack us," Vala snapped.

Sam threw her shoulder at the robes again and this time it sunk back into the wall.

"Much appreciated darling." Vala's voice came through the radio calmly and clearly.

Sam leaned against the wal panting, her bangs were slick with sweat and she guessed her cheeks were slightly flushed. She ran her fingers through her bangs flicking them back out of her face and stood up straight. She rubbed her shoulder gently, that was going to bruise. Right, next level, only eight more pieces to go.

About ten or fifteen minutes more of bickering, in-fighting, childish behaviour and several scraped knees and hands later, they found the next pair of pieces. Sam waited patiently down her corridor as Vala and Laura prepared to lock their respective pieces into place. Vala had a crook and Laura a flail.

The radio crackled as Laura announced she was locking hers into place, seconds later Vala did the same thing. Sam looked around her eyeing the walls and floor suspiciously. She expected something to jump out; the ceiling to start caving in or to hear something approaching, but there was nothing but silence.

"I think we can call that progress," she said down her radio. Smiling she headed down her corridor, fascinated by the level of detail of the paintwork. She had thought the hieroglyphics downstairs were breathtaking but these were something else. Perfectly preserved, not a chip or faded section in sight.

A cry echoed down the corridor, an infant. Sam froze and turned quickly, her pink glow-stick held over her head.

That cry was so familiar, and yet so alien to her. She was almost certain it was Ella, but logic told her it couldn't be, Ella was in Atlantis.

The cry started again, the heart wrenching sobs of a very distressed infant, a young infant, but not a newborn. Sam knew it was illogical but her gut clenched, her stomached ached at the sound of her child crying, and her being unable to comfort her. She realised she had thought of her as her daughter, that's what she was, in every way but flesh and blood, Ella was her daughter. She loved her in a way she had never loved anyone or anything, she loved her more than she had ever thought possible. She knew that whatever the IOA or Air Force did to her, there was no giving Ella up, it would destroy her.

"Shhh, shhh," a female voice soothed gently, Sam's eyes widened as she realised it was Mandari. "Shhh, shhh, little human cub, shhh."

Sam's gut clenched once more, she felt sick and disgusted. She knew it wasn't real but she had to stop that creature talking to her daughter like that. She made her way to the end of the corridor, following the sound of the Alien's voice.

"Shhh, there's nothing to be afraid of." Mandari continued, her voice growing louder with each step Sam took.

Sam kept her breathing steady and quiet, everything within her told her to attack, to do whatever it took, but her military training was holding her back; reminding her that she had a better chance of saving her daughter if she surprised the alien.

"Hey, this won't hurt a bit," Mandari's voice took on a colder edge.

Sam turned a corner and saw a shadowy figure reflected onto the wall in front of her, the humanoid alien holding something in her arms, assumedly the baby. Sam cocked her gun and pointed it in front of her, her left hand holding the glow-stick supporting her right wrist.

"Let her go," Sam demanded. Her head reminding her she was talking to a hallucination, but it was so real her heart forced her to continue. She had to protect Ella; she had to save her.

Shadow Mandari lifted her head and turned towards her.

"You're too late, you cannot stop me," she lifted her hand and intense pain shot through the entirety of Sam's body. Like a thousand daggers stabbing her all over, Sam fell to the ground in agony and writhed as she tried to crawl to shadow Mandari.

"Please!" Sam begged, her body seeming to vocalize her thoughts. "Don't hurt her! Please, I'll do anything!"

Shadow Mandari laughed cruelly, she tipped her head back and two pointed fangs grew from either side of her mouth. Quick as lightening she sunk them into the baby. The baby screamed.

Sam screamed in response, her arm stretched out towards the child as tears streamed down her face; every cell in her body desperate to save her baby.

Suddenly, the baby and Shadow Mandari vanished and the pain faded away. Sam found herself sobbing in a pathetic heap on the floor. Her heart was racing, the blood pounding in her ears, her shuddering breaths echoing around her.

"Sam! Sam!" Aimee's panicked voice cut through Sam's tears, "Are you okay?"

Sam gasped through her sobs, trying to calm herself. She raised herself to a seated position, the tears still streaming down her face.

"Sam! Please respond!" Aimee tried again, her voice higher than usual.

Sam took a few steadying breaths. "I'm okay," she hoped she sounded okay. She was far from okay. "Did you find another piece?" Her rational mind putting 2 and 2 together.

"Yeah, Jennifer found the collar. Are you sure you're okay?" the young Captain asked her again.

"Yeah, I'm, I'm fine. Keep looking for the next pieces, Carter out." She finished her communication and drew her knee up to her chin. She wrapped her arms around herself and allowed her tears to flow freely. This was what Mandari wanted; she wanted to hurt Ella. She didn't know what would have happened if the hallucination hadn't been stopped, what those fangs would have done to the soft, tender skin. What if she wanted to kill her? She knew now, that whatever Mandari did, there was no stopping her; she could cripple her with her mind. How could she ever protect Ella against that?

* * *

**A/N 2:** Any thoughts on the use of Scots would be appreciated. Let me know if parts of this are too difficult to understand.

"Thae folk told us we had to pruive oursel, the tests o delirium, discord, sense an temptation. Ah rin fro a horse that wasnae really there, the gruind fell away frae yous bit ya didnae fall. Whit if its the test o delirium? Thair playing wi our heids."

Means

"Those people told us we had to prove ourselves, the tests of delirium, discord, sense and temptation. I ran from a horse that wasn't really there, the ground fell away from you two but you didn't fall. What if its the test of delirium? They're playing with our heads."

And

"Aye, daena believe ocht ye see or hear, ye ken?"

Means

"Yes, don't believe anything you see or hear, you understand?"


End file.
